


Star Fox: Innocence Lost

by Demo_ODST



Category: Star Fox Series
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Humanity, Mecha
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-05-09 20:00:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14722671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demo_ODST/pseuds/Demo_ODST
Summary: With earth in turmoil, millions have left the world to settle on Corneria. A sinister force seeks its former power. To obtain it, they have started taking people at random. The Cornerian government hires Star Fox to protect their next potential victim, who in turn place the individuals care into their newest members hands.





	1. Chapter One

_January Earth, 2023_

               My eye’s wandered across the horizon, seeing nothing but destruction as far as I could see. The entire planet was in turmoil, conflicts having erupted across the globe, virtually tearing what humanity knew as society apart. In the distance, amongst what used to be a prosperous city, I could see an armored column of M1A3 Abrams tanks, the large angular tanks having been modified with cutting edge plasma weaponry and micro fusion plants, technology decades ahead of everything humanity had known even a decade ago. But, those modified tanks were nothing compared to the three story tall mechs walking with them. They looked much like people, with angular lines and armor. They also carried various weapons, almost like their infantry counterparts. Most carried a massive assault rifle, firing large twenty-five millimeter rounds. There were also shotgun like weapons, pistols, chain guns, and all sorts of different weapons to suit any pilot’s needs. They also had a set of thrusters built into the craft, in the feet and on the back to name two of the main places, that allowed for sudden powerful movements and limited flight abilities. The craft were extremely mobile, and quickly had taken the spot of the deadliest craft on the battle field. Thankfully, this convoy only had two escorting it. Although, those two looked way beyond the boxy machines that I usually saw and fought. They were entirely smooth and angular lines, the head being almost like a helmet with a set of red glowing eyes under the rim of the visor. It almost looked like it was wearing a flight mask with the way the face stuck out. I quivered slightly, now completely unsure about the fight that lay before me, unable to shake the fact that I didn’t recognize the model of mechs that were before us. I felt a hand on my shoulder and glanced over to see my dark haired brother beside me, grinning as he usually did, his sharp features seeming to fit the expression perfectly.

               “Nervous?” I quickly shook my head, trying to swallow, even though there was no liquid in my mouth.

               “Not at all Matt. Just want to get this over with.” He smirked, cycling the bolt on his M4A1. His brown eyes locking with mine as he spoke.

               “Bro, you look scared shitless. It’s alright to be scared. You’re only fourteen.” I shrugged, looking back through the rubble we were using as a fighting position. Although I was scared at the moment, fear and I had already come to an agreement of sorts, it no longer being a problem for me. At least, after the shooting started that is. And although I thought of him as my brother, and the feeling was almost undeniably mutual, we really weren’t. Both of us had lost our family’s at the start of this war, and had been fighting together almost since the I had started fighting, almost five years prior.

               “I aint scared. Just want this shit to be done. I’m tired of fighting.” I heard him grunt behind me, my eyes glancing back to see him shoulder a simple AT7, a model very similar to the AT4’s that had been standard issue. He had another of his indomitable smirks on his face, it honestly being unsettling how excited he seemed in a fight. But it was just a façade to hide his own fears. We were both wearing the same digital patterned camouflage, faded and torn from years of wear. Although mine barely fit, being too baggy for me. We also were both wearing light, black, tactical vests with old worn out pouches carrying ammo for our weapons and various other equipment, a pouch on our left shoulders holding a radio, his only visible to me as a black antenna sticking out over his shoulder, the rest hidden on his back.

               “So Chris, you want to start this party?” I gulped and nodded, cycling the bolt on my M468, just before resting the large tube connected under the barrel on the rubble, that being an underslung M203 grenade launcher. I took a deep breath as I looked through the short range ACOG scope, the small red triangle seeming to glow with an inner light. I lined it up on one of the infantry of the column, his white body armor and kit looking straight from a science fiction movie. At the end of my breath out, I gently squeezed the trigger, the rifle discharging with an incredible bang, breaking the relative peace of the area. I saw the soldier drop, his comrades panicking as rifle shots erupted from all around us, as well as the sounds of dozens of missiles hitting the air, the concussive waves off the weapons launching sending my head spinning. Several of the convoy’s vehicles detonated, blasted apart by their reactors being ruptured. But, several more had the missiles detonate harmlessly on the hull, the shaped charges not hitting anything vital with in the tanks. Without thinking, I shifted my rifle again, firing another shot at the infantry, knowing I missed as the soldier kept running, another shot hitting him and tearing through his armor. red bolts of plasma began ripping away from the soldiers in the convoy, the mechs turning to engage. I felt more than heard my brother’s rocket launcher fire, watching the shot race out, headed straight for one of the mech’s, only to detonate harmlessly several feet from hitting it, a wispy blue energy marking a powerful energy shield guarding the mech. I heard him swear, his hand grabbing the handle on my vest as he yanked me away from the small sheltered nook in the rubble. “Come on, we gotta go! Those mechs will tear us a new one if we hang around!” I needed no second invitation, seeing hundreds of our fellow resistance fighters scrambling to run, red bolts ripping into them, as well as explosions following the blue bolts of the tank rounds. Screams were amazingly out powering the zipping sounds of plasma bolts, until the booms started. Rapid flurries of booms, almost like the bursts of an assault rifle or machine gun, only much louder, followed by yellow tracer rounds lancing into clusters of soldiers, the massive rounds fired by the mechs literally tearing the gruella fighters apart. Dirt and gore was blasted skyward with each and every burst, rapidly diminishing the number of fighters that were still retreating. Suddenly, as I scrambled across an open street, the massive booms became unbearably loud, my body being tossed about like a rag. I groaned as the booming came to a stop, my entire body aching as a ring filled my ears. Broken rock and asphalt caused sharp spurts of pain as the debris rained down on me. Dust lazily drifted around me as I rolled over onto my back, my rifle still clutched tightly in my hand. I slowly sat up, seeing the corpse that used to be my brother, half his hip region missing along with the leg, one round having nearly torn his body in half. Tears stung my eyes as I sat there frozen in place, unable to move or think as the sight was burned into my memory. Sound slowly returned to my ears as the dust settled, the sound of a fighter jet’s engines screaming over head, followed by a loud sharp buzzing sound, and several powerful explosions rocking the area. But even that didn’t break the trance I found myself in. I didn’t fight as a hand grabbed me and yanked me to my feet, dragging me away from the violent battle ground.

* * *

 

_August 2025, Corneria Orbit, Great Fox._

               Fox McCloud groaned as he sat up, an alarm buzzing in his ear. He slapped the alarm clock beside his bed, groaning yet again as he realized that it wasn’t his alarm clock ringing. He rolled off his bed his tail catching on the blanket and forcing him to stop for a second to pull the blanket off his bushy appendage. He groggily moved over to the intercom by the door, silencing the alarm in his room and activating the intercom at the same time.

               “Hey, what’s the alarm for ROB? I’m trying to sleep here!” the robot’s mechanical voice spoke, filling his room.

               “Incoming transmission from General Pepper.” Fox sighed, glancing down at his bare body, his fluffy almost burnt orange and cream colored fur waving slightly as the air conditioning drifted by.

               “Alright, fine, I’ll take it on the bridge in a few. Out.” He groaned yet again as he slipped over to his office chair, quickly slipping into the flight suit he had left there, slipping his white jacket and plated boots over it before clipping his blaster belt on. His feet quickly carried him out of the room and into the main hall, taking an immediate left turn and heading for the bridge. It wasn’t a far walk, the doors sliding open as he approached. The team’s newest member, and only non-pilot, was the only other one on the bridge, silently waiting for him. He was a human hailing from the turbulent world of earth, having grown up fighting. He may only be seventeen, but he was likely the most experienced ground fighter on the ship, most of Fox’s near decade as a mercenary seeing less action during it than he saw in a single year on earth. He was an expert in ground combat tactics and equipment, leading them several times already too easy wins in ground operations. Although, that may have had something to do with the massive battle mech he brought from earth, heavily modified by Slippy to hybridize human and Cornerian tech. he had proven to be able to annihilate entire companies of enemy troops on his own with the mech, something unique to humanity. Even though most of their technology was centuries behind Cornerians, having not even developed their own Warp drives, humanity had created incredible leaps in weapons technology after a pair of Cornerian Destroyers wrecked on the planet. The loss of those destroyers had introduced them to the galactic community a few years after, once the Cornerian Defense Force discovered their fates. The planet was already in the process of tearing itself apart at that point. A select set of nations had hogged the wrecks of the destroyers, using their enhanced military tech to attempt to create a worldwide dominate force. A massive resistance started, creating a planet wide civil war. Out gunned by the technologically superior force, that resistance was slowly crumbling, becoming more and more desperate in their fight. That resistance was how their human had gained so much experience at such a young age.

               The human nodded to Fox, Fox returning the small gesture of respect, curious as to why the kid was already fully dressed in his usual garb, grey army fatigues with black armored vest, covered in pouches. He had a beat up human assault rifle on his back, as well as a human handgun, having a strange hatred for plasma weapons. The only thing he would ever use them with being his mech. Fox’s fingers flew over the small keyboard on his command chair, even before he had managed to sit down. The quick commands opened up the main holo screen, covering up the star field out the main viewport with an image of General pepper, a brown, saggy skinned canine wearing his usual red formal uniform.

               “Sorry to wake you Fox. I have need for the Star Fox team.” Fox waved it off, still groggy from being awoken.

               “It’s alright. What’s going on General.” His image shrank to half the screen, several images of what seemed like several different people, ranging from young to mid aged, and of all races, including human, appearing on the screen. Large numbers of humans had ended up in the Lylat system, fleeing from the carnage on their home world.

               “We have been noticing several odd disappearances lately. After some investigating, it is believed that Andross’s forces are behind them, but we are unsure as to why.” Fox thoughtfully stroked his chin, responding as soon as Pepper was done speaking.

               “Alright, so you want us to hunt them down or something?” General Pepper shook his head, the images changing to that of a human girl, clearly still in school. She had very dark brown hair, falling down to the bottom of her shoulder blades. In one of the pictures, she was smiling, a canine beside her laughing about something. She was also brushing her hair away from her very deep blue eyes, and even Fox had to admit that she was a very pretty girl.

               “No. the CIA thinks that this girl is one of their next targets. It’s unknown why, but they intercepted these images last night. I want you to protect her. I’ll be paying by the day, four thousand Liat a day to be precise, and a bonus of twenty thousand should you actually prevent something.” Fox snorted at that, realizing just how much such an easy job was going to make them.

               “Alright, you got a deal. Whats the target’s name?” his console dinged as files began to download to it.

               “Samantha Warren. She’s sixteen, second year into her school. I’m open on how you decide to protect her, so long as it works. She moved to Corneria six years ago, shortly after we discovered humanity. She speaks Cornerian fluently, as well as English. Decent grades in her classes, as far as we can tell, a perfectly polite and normal student.” Fox nodded, a plan already forming in his mind.

               “Alright, I’ll stay in touch General.” The comm line cut, Fox turning his chair toward the human standing quietly in the corner. He had dark almost black hair, and near silver grey eyes, fitting well with his short hair and sharp features. For being so young, he was already scarred from warfare, the only currently visible scar being across his cheek, a graze from a kinetic round. “Chris, go get Peppy, then prep yourself some gear and clothing.”

               “Yes sir, should I prep the MICS?” Fox raised an eyebrow at him, shrugging at his response.

               “Do you really think you need a battle mech in a civilian city?” the human shrugged, leaving the bridge almost immediately after. Fox let out a small sigh before quickly flicked through the data as he waited for Peppy to arrive, unable to not smirk as his earlier idea began to form into a coherent plan.

* * *

 

               I dropped the duffel bag of gear into the back of the grey SUV Fox owned, looking up at the blue sky above me. It was crisscrossed with spacecraft and air craft, all using the spaceport the vehicle was parked out front of. A blue bird like individual dropped another duffel bag beside the stack I had created, groaning with effort. His dark blue feathers were all puffed out in total annoyance as he did so, his green eyes damn near staring daggers from his red eye sockets.

               “Shesh kid, how much did you pack?” I boredly stared right back as I closed the tailgate, speaking very plainly.

               “Just the usual necessities, a few rifles, ammo for them, ammo for the 203, my handgun, a stun pistol, couple of AT7’s, C4, M67’s, flashbangs, anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, traps, detonators….” He cut me off, one eyebrow raised.

               “You realize you are guarding a highschool girl, not going to war, right?” I nodded gesturing at the bags again.

               “Yes. It’s best to be prepared for any scenario. So, I have anti tank and mech capabilities, as well as anti-infantry, counter-sniper….” Falco cut me off again, one palm pressed up against his forehead, just above his beak.

               “Chris, you need to chillax man. You aint gonna need to fight tanks or mechs, or aircraft, or anything! Maybe a sniper, maybe some shady guys with blasters, not a friggin army!” I looked around, suddenly feeling even more unsure as to my role in the mission.

               “But, it’s good to be prepa……” he cut me off yet again, placing a hand on the SUV to lean on it, his arm fully extended.

               “And what’s up with that get up? You need to look like a teenager, not a paramilitary bad-ass!” I looked down at my gear, a mid-weight armored vest designed against both plasma and ballistic weapons, which had several pouches on it, all empty at the moment. Underneath was my usual grey uniform, a form of fiber-armored clothing to provide a small amount of protection from debris and shrapnel. This was all topped off with my black combat boots, and dropdown holster for my pistol tightly secured to my side. “Fox, gimme a hand here!” I glanced up at the orange and white fox, his emerald eyes bouncing between us. he had a small assault pack on his shoulder with some cloths, nothing more. He rolled his eyes at me, looking up and down my clothing.

               “Seriously kid, you need to drop the paramilitary act, loosen up a bit, actually act your age for a bit.” I groaned, giving Fox a pitiful look.

               “Can I at least keep my forty-five?” Fox’s shoulders slumped as he gestured at the interior of the car.

               “Yeah, I guess, come on, lets get going, Peppy is at the school, getting you registered. You need to get into that apartment.” I dropped into the passenger seat, Fox taking the driver’s seat, Falco forced to one of the back seats. With in minutes, the quiet trio were racing across a highway, Fox finally breaking the silence. “When we get there, you are changing clothes, got it?” I grimaced, speaking in a very quiet voice, almost ashamed of myself.

               “I don’t own anything other than tactical wear. I haven’t needed it before.” Fox sighed as well, easily weaving through the slower traffic.

               “Alright, I guess I gotta take you shopping. Joy. Falco, you’re in charge of getting the gear upstairs.” Falco groaned as he responded.

               “Fuuuuck. Why me? They don’t got a janitor service or something that we can make them do it?”

               “Falco…..” he groaned again at Fox’s voice when Fox’s wrist began ringing. He answered the call and instantly groaned, his ears dropping back.

               “Hi Mom.” His transmitter was linked to an earpiece in his ear, letting him be hands free while talking. By the way he cringed, there was clearly an excited response on the other end, but none of us could hear it. “Yes, I’m on Corneria…. No I have not said hi to Fara, no…. mom, no, I don’t want to say hi to her….. we did break up mom…… yeah….. yeah, I’ll swing by, tell dad I said hi….. yes, I got to go….. yes…… mom, I’m on a job, I gotta go…..” Falco chuckled behind us as the conversation dragged on and on until Fox finally just hit the end call button. “Shesh, I love her to death but she just doesn’t shut up sometimes.” Falco burst out laughing as I looked away, unable to not feel sad. _Wish I had a mother still…._ I shoved the thoughts and memories that thought brought up away, trying to suppress them once more. Fox guided the car off the highway, easily navigating the streets until we reached a small multistoried apartment building. We all got out heading up stairs with as many bags as possible to a room Peppy had already rented out for us. He had picked this particular apartment because it overlooked the apartment the girl we had been tasked to protect lived in. I dropped the two duffels I had been carrying, quickly dropping the vest on them. “Drop your pistol too. Yes, it’s legal to carry weapons on Corneria, but you aren’t of age yet.” I groaned and dropped the tactical belt as well, Fox beckoning me to follow. We marched back downstairs, quickly pulling all of the bags from the back and dropping them on the sidewalk before jumping back into the vehicle.

               “Alright, let’s go get you looking the part.” Fox said, backing away from the building and pulling back into the hectic city traffic, myself sighing as he did so. “So, you realize this will be a lot easier on us if you get close to her, right?” I glanced at him, going back to staring out the window, trying to remember the streets and areas we passed.

               “I hope you are not meaning friends sir.” He chuckled, seeming to be barely paying attention to his driving.

               “Of course I mean friends dip shit. You’d look weird just following her around all the time if you weren’t friends.”

               “I’m supposed to be guarding her. it’s not that odd.” Fox groaned, narrowly missing a car as it pulled out from a space.

               “She isn’t supposed to know we are here. We don’t want to cause a panic. People are finally calming down after the whole Andross business a decade ago. No one thinks he’s a threat anymore. So if a famous mercenary outfit was seen guarding someone for unknown reasons, people would start panicking and trying to figure out why. So, you cant let her know you are guarding her. get me?” I nodded, him finally bringing the car to a stop almost at the same time.

* * *

 

               Samantha groaned as her alarm rang, her fist smacking the device until it finally shut up. She groggily slipped out of her bed, heading straight for the one bathroom in the small apartment she shared with her older brother and mother, not that her brother was really there anymore. Their father had been killed as they fled earth, shot dead feet from them by a resistance fighter. She sighed, fighting those memories back to the back of her mind as she showered for the day. It didn’t take her long to slip into a set of skin tight black yoga pants and an hourglass shaped t-shirt she got from a friend, a Cornerian music logo faded on the front of it. she grabbed her back pack, finding herself not very hungry, and deciding to just head out. It didn’t take her long to leave the apartment and reach the bus stop, staying a short way away from the other students that were gathering there. Most of them didn’t even notice or care, having known that she was a bit of a loner. A lot of humans stuck to themselves or in little groups. Most kept away from the Cornerians entirely. Suddenly, one of the Cornerians, a black and white border collie, came practically bouncing her way too her. the female canine was a little shorter than Samantha, with incredibly deep brown eyes and wearing a yellow dress that fit her bouncy personality better than words could describe. She was practically screaming at the top of her longs as she approached, Samantha smiling and blushing at the exuberant canine, despite this being a regular occurrence with her.

               “Sammy! How’s it going girly!?” the girl rammed Samantha into a hug, which she full heartedly returned, despite the fact that it felt as though the canine was trying to crush the life out of her.

               “Callie, it’s been what, two days? Why so excited to see me?” the collie let her go and shrugged, still grinning, her not surprisingly wagging like it would never wag again.

               “I’m always excited to see you! Did you hear about the new student we are getting!?” Samantha sighed, raising an eyebrow at her.

               “How would I have, I just got here Callie.” She grimaced for a second, her ears dropping what little they could.

               “Oh, yeah, well he’s over there, he looks kinda creepy to me though….” Samantha followed the line of her thumb over her shoulder to the guy in question, who was leaning up against a street light well away from everyone else. He seemed to be watching everything around him at once, and Samantha couldn’t shake the feeling that his eyes kept flicking to her for some reason. He had a back pack on, and was wearing grey cargo pants and a blue short sleeve button up shirt, a white t-shirt poking out from beneath it. all of his clothing was baggy on him, hiding his frame very well. He had a scar on his cheek, just beneath his right eye that made her think it was a bullet graze, which honestly would not surprise her. very little of the human population was untouched by war at this point, given the global conflict that was consuming earth.

               “Not that creepy. Besides, who cares? We get new people from earth all the time. Come on.” She gestured for the Cornerian to follow her as she headed for the bus that was now arriving. Cornerian buses were nothing compared to what she was used to, and were very sleek affairs, with pointed fronts and very comfortable seats within them. She was silent for most of the ride, ignoring her peers, as was also a usual for her, simply watching the familiar streets pass by, a small smile on her face. The bus eventually passed a gate and wall that frankly looked like it belonged at a military base, not a school, but that was due to the recent past. A terrorist organization used to target schools a lot, the Cornerian government posting guards at their schools and locking them down like fortresses, something that was now obsolete and unused. The school campus itself though was fairly familiar even though the school worked a little differently than she was used too. The students didn’t move from classroom to classroom, the teachers did. So the classrooms were much nicer than she was used to back home, even at a public school like this one. As soon as the bus stopped, she slipped out of her seat following her friend out of the bus and toward the school.

               “So, have a good weekend Sammy?” she glanced at the collie and nodded, returning the canine’s smile.

               “Yeah, my mom actually got time off, so we went to the mall and saw a movie together. It was great to actually spend time with her again!” Callie smiled back to her, clearly happy that her friend had fun. “So how’d that date go Callie?” she seemed to shrivel up where she stood, her tail tucking itself between her legs, and not even looking at Samantha.

               “I spilled soup all over my dress! I’m fairly sure he doesn’t want to see me ever again!” Sammy chuckled, patting her shoulder. Callie was surprisingly cute when she was down.

               “Well, what about the rest of the night?” she shrugged, still looking ashamed.

               “It went fine, I think.” Sammy smiled to her yet again as they stepped into the building, just feet from their classroom.

               “Then I’m sure it will be fine Callie. I’m sure he wants to meet up again!” Callie sheepishly returned the smile as she spoke, a subtle wag accompanying it as their feet carried them into their classroom. It had rows of desks, just like any classroom, but each desk had a holo-viewer built into it that could be used as a video screen or display three dimensional models. Although, most classwork was still on paper, the computers helped with learning the material. They only had a few minutes before class started, so they both moved to their desks, close to the long windows that dominated the left side of the room. Straight ahead of them was a massive electronic board that could display video, and be written on with a stylus, or operated via touch. Just in front of the screen was the teacher’s desk, about as normal as all teacher’s desks were. The second she reached her usual seat, she dropped her bag under it and plopped into the seat, the collie dropping behind her. Two of her other friends were already sitting in their seats beside herself and Callie, one being a turquoise eagle, who had a very long and lanky frame. She was sitting directly beside Callie, and her name was Ava. Beside Samantha was a fellow human girl, Maria, who hailed from mexico originally, but had learned English when she was very little. She had short, straight black hair and deep brown eyes, matching very well with her dark skin and slightly plump features. She quietly waved hello as her class mates filed into their seats, the teacher about to silence the class.

               “Alright, hello class, we got ourselves another new student today.” Their main teacher was an aging bulldog with white fur, and despite his somewhat aggressive appearance, was quite friendly. “If you would, come up here, introduce yourself to the class.” Sammy watched as he stood from the very last seat in her row, all the way in the corner of the room, making his way through the class room, and to the front. As he passed her, she noticed that he had small scars on his arms as well, curious as to what they were from. He seemed very uncomfortable at the front of the class room, looking like he would want nothing more than to disappear right there. “Well?” he sighed as the teacher spoke again, speaking in a low but fairly powerful voice.

               “My name is Christopher McGlocklin.” And his voice dropped off after that, him clearly thinking that was enough.

               “And anything you think we should know about you?” he turned bright red, getting a chuckle out of most of the class. Samantha didn’t though, totally understanding not wanting to share anything about oneself.

               “Um….. I’m from earth, um…..” his voice dropped off again as the class roared with laughter, Samantha unable to help but feel sorry for him, seeing that just how uncomfortable he was up there, shifting back and forth between his feet.

               “Well, does anyone have a question for our new classmate?” someone instantly shouted out a question from the back, Samantha being unsure as to who had asked it.

               “How’d your face get all messed up?” she wanted to glare at whoever it was, but she was surprised when he responded quite calmly.

               “I got shot by somebody who didn’t survive my reprisal.” The amount of venom in the statement got the entire class silent, to which his head turned toward the teacher. “We done now?” the teacher nodded, clearly slightly shocked himself. He moved to the back of the class again, Samantha giving him one last glance before her attention returned to the front of the classroom, forgetting all about him within minutes.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't yet know how to fix the indentation on this. whenever i press tab, it just starts flicking through options at the bottom so i only got what i preserved through word. also, this story is already up on Fanfiction, i am merely reposting it here

               Samantha yawned and stretched finally glad that it was lunch time, having been almost lectured to death by the teachers.

               “Ugh, I hate math.” Samantha smirked at Ava beside her, the avian looking utterly defeated as she tapped her pen on the note book she used for math class, which was covered in idle doodles, almost filling the pages. Samantha smirked, knowing she spent most of her time doodling random patterns and images, excelling in nothing but art class.

               “Well, maybe if you payed attention every once and a while, you wouldn’t mind it so much!” Maria was already turning around as Samantha spoke, sliding her neat note book onto Ava’s desk, a smile on her face.

               “Here, my notes are really good if you need some help.” Ava smiled, accepting the notes as she struggled with the problems. Samantha, on the other hand, let her attention go to her desk, manipulating the screen as she searched for more info for her history project, trying to finish it before the end of lunch when they would have history.

               “Wish you could help me with this history project. I don’t know anything about lylatian history, especially not the in depth study he is asking for!” their particular project required each of them to draw a topic at random and do an in depth report on it. The topic she had drawn was the venom insurrection from ten years ago. Maria gave her a sad look, smiling gently at her for a second.

               “I’m sorry Samantha, I’m not much help there either. Hey Callie, what did you bring for lunch?” the group usually cycled through each other, only one member bringing the group lunch each day. Sometimes, they would go somewhere off grounds to eat, but due to the workload today, they already had known they weren’t leaving the classroom. The Canine didn’t respond for a few seconds, causing Sammy to glance behind her, curious as well. She seemed to be staring at something behind them, the slump in her shoulders instantly telling Samantha that she was sad about something.

               “look at him, he’s all alone over there. And he looks like he’s having a lot of trouble too!” Samantha leaned out a bit to see who she was looking at, seeing the new kid, a couple of notebooks out on his desk, frantically flicking between them, his homework sheets, and five different holograms of things they had gone over that day, looking utterly bewildered.

               “Yeah, he does. We should invite him over.” Maria’s voice was filled with pity, a concerned expression on her face. Samantha shrugged, not really caring as her attention focused back on her work, running searches to find information. She heard Callie and Maria stand, not paying attention until Callie’s voice drifted over to her.

               “No silly! Just pull your card out, and it will save what you are doing!” she glanced back seeing the guys shoulders slump, just before pulling his card out and gathering his things up. His back pack slipped off his arm, clunking to the floor with a very loud and metallic clunk, to which he instantly went red about.

“Oh, here, I got ya.” Maria grabbed the bag before he could, groaning slightly as she picked it up. “Shesh, what do you have in here, bricks?” he looked extremely embarrassed again, dropping one of his note books as he tried to get the bag back from her.

“Uh, no! nothing! Just uh, school stuff!” he managed to get the bag from her, Callie scooping up the note book, which he seemed to not care about at all. She was looking at it as he moved to the seat right in front of Samantha, glancing at her for longer than Samantha thought necessary.

“Hey, this is wrong. well, all of it is wrong. did you even pay attention to the lesson today?” Callie was speaking staring at his notes, his face falling.

“Oh….. I thought I was doing it right…..” the canine laughed and beckoned him over to her, quickly showing him what he was doing wrong.

“See, make a little more sense now? shouldn’t you already know to do that, it’s just review?” he shriveled up a little bit again, turning red.

“No, my schooling has been a bit…. Erratic until now. I know a lot about ballistics, and metallurgy, structures, astrodynamics, thermal and chemical explosive combustion, first aid, and so on, just never seen this before, especially not this photosynthe-what ever.” Even Ava was fighting to hold in a chuckle at his words, instantly speaking.

“Photosynthesis? Dude, I learned about that in elementary school!” he shrugged, more than a little depressed.

“Oh, come here, I’ll help you out a bit, get your notes straight so you can catch up at home!” Callie pulled her ID out of her desk, sliding into the desk next to his and plugging it in. “Oh, I brought some sandwiches, they’re in my bag.” She seemed to non-chalantly toss that statement back to them, quickly diving into explaining all of their course work from today, the bits Samantha catching telling her that Callie kept having to go farther and farther back in their teaching, trying to find something he was familiar with. Samantha felt her stomach growl, quickly pulling Callie’s bag over and distributing some of the sandwiches to the group, offering the new kid one, but he refused it, seeming to not really be paying much attention to Callie as she tried to walk him through things, his eyes either wandering the room of snapping over to Sammy every few seconds, making her start feeling uneasy. Suddenly, he deliberately turned in his chair, speaking a little louder than he necessarily should have.

“that’s the Venom insurrection right? You know that it didn’t start with a pre-emptive strike right?” Samantha, pulled the article she had gotten that from, showing him.

“That’s what this says.” He quickly shook his head, manipulating her holo-viewer for a second.

“Here you go. It really started with a recon flight by a group of private military contractors, hired by the CDF to investigate reports of military activity above venom. One of the pilots betrayed the team, and they killed him, getting a whole lot of comms data and recon data on the insurrection’s infrastructure and defenses, returning to Corneria and using their flagship to lead a Cornerian battle group to destroy them.” An image of a red fox with wings appeared in a holo above her desk, looking like an ad for a PMC group she had never heard of before.

“Hey, I’ve heard of them! That’s Star Fox! They are some bigshot fighter pilots! They fly ships that are decades ahead of the current curve! And their flagship is supposed to be one of the most powerful warships designed! They’re pretty famous cause they are the only mercenary company to have ever received a parliamentary commendation.” Ava seemed a little more excited than she should have, her voice suddenly becoming dreamy, her eye’s fluttering. “One of their pilots is _so_ hot, if I ever met him, I think my heart would stop!” Samantha smirked, having never even seen her friend acting like this. Suddenly, there was a crashing sound, drawing the whole groups attention to where a beaker for science class had shattered across the floor, seeming to have slid off the counter all on it’s own, no one even within ten feet of it. As the teacher moved closer to the shattered glass, telling the students that were meters from it not to worry the whole time, one of the still pieces flipped completely on it’s own.

“Well that was odd…. Wait a sec, you don’t know anything about Trigonometry, and yet you know that particular part of Cornerian history!” Callie’s voice changed to one of shock as her focus returned to the boy beside her, who seemed to shrivel up again.

“Well, yeah, I thought that was common knowledge?” Callie rolled her eyes, Maria speaking up almost instantly, still munching on one of the sandwiches as she spoke.

“So Christopher right? Where you from?” He shrugged, still fiddling with the holo-desk.

“Colorado.” Maria looked down for a second as Samantha tapped through the site Christopher had led her too, quickly finding all the information she needed.

“oh… I heard the fighting was pretty bad there. How was your last school?” he shrugged, clearly trying to focus elsewhere.

“It was fine.”

“So where was you’re last school?” he clearly hesitated at Samantha’s sudden question, glancing at her again.

“Uh…. Katina?” he sounded extremely unsure of himself, Callie speaking up, clearly having given up on trying to fix his notes.

“Oh, got any friends there?! Oh, do you got a girl there?!” he looked bewildered again, shriveling up where he sat, earning him a giggle from Samantha.

“Uh, what?” Callie joined Samantha in giggling again.

“You know, a girlfriend, silly!” he suddenly clearly found the view out the window very interesting, not looking at any of them.

“Uhmm….” He remained fairly silent as he seemed to debate what to say, callie speaking before he could.

“ouuuu, so you do have a girl! Is she human?!” he instantly responded, sounding panicked.

“No! I don’t! really!” he suddenly shriveled up in his chair, and Samantha couldn’t help but admit to herself that he was really cute when nervous as he was now.

“Oh, so you had a girl you liked then!?” he violently shook his head and her jaw dropped slightly. “Seriously, not even a gal you liked? Are you gay or something?” he again shook his head, even more violently this time.

“No no no no no, not gay! Just no one, who…. how do I say this, fit my fancy? I think?” she smiled and shrugged, clearly content with that answer, to which he breathed a sigh of relief. “So uh, who are all you guys?” he was very quiet as he said that, fidgeting with his hands. Samantha didn’t even look up from her paper as she held her hand out to him.

“Samantha. Pleasure.” He gently shook her hand, Samantha not really paying attention as the others all introduced themselves. To which he simply went back to his work, not really even paying much attention to them from there on. He suddenly stood and stretched, speaking softly to her alone.

“I’ll be right back.” With that, he left the room, causing Samantha to shrug, not really caring. After a few minutes, he returned looking very annoyed about something, sitting back down in his seat.

()

My eye’s wandered the unfamiliar streets as my feet carried me along, almost not really even paying attention to where I was going. My focus was almost entirely on my environment, seeing hundreds of fighting positions that could be used to set up an ambush, the farther we walked, the more nervous I was that there was going to be some sort of ambush. The girl I was supposed to be protecting was a few steps ahead of me, her avian friend walking with her. Normally, Callie, another one of Samantha’s friends, would be with them as well, walking the two miles from the school to their apartments. But she had not even been in school that day, being out sick. Which was precisely why the avian was headed this way, so that she could visit their mutual friend. Normally, Samantha would walk home, enjoying the exercise, while also enjoying the extra sleep that came from riding the bus in the mornings. Given the apartment I was living out of was very close, actually the same complex as Callie’s, they had offered for me to join them. My mind idly drifted to the conversation I had the day prior with Falco, after he mistakenly knocked a beaker off the counter while he was using one of Star Fox’s cloaking units, along with several other blunders of his from throughout the day, including bumping into people, tripping me, among other things. I had yelled at him for all of it, for the reason that his carelessness and joking attitude could easily blow his cover, losing all tactical edge he had should something happen.

“Hey, why so quiet back there?” I startled at the sweet sounding voice that belonged to Samantha, almost sounding too innocent for what her file on her history said. She laughed slightly as she was looking back at me, seeing me startle.

“Uh, just walking back to the apartment. Nothing else.” She rolled her eyes at me, smiling gently in a way that made me beyond uncomfortable.

“Really? You know, this is the second time you have walked home with us, and I feel like you’ve barely even said more than ten words. Have problems getting to know people?” I grunted, still trying to focus on what was around us.

“Yeah, something like that. Frankly, just got nothing worth talking about ma…..” I cut myself off, realizing that I was about to call her ma-am.

“Oh, comeon, there has got to be something you enjoy?” I sighed before I responded, noticing a dark figure in one of alley’s we passed, who frankly looked like he was waiting for something.

“Well, I enjoy ballistics and firearms, as well as the not so subtle science of heat shock induced explosions created through friction and speed.” She raised an eyebrow at me and I decided to throw something out that almost no one really knew about me, in an effort to seem a little more like a teenager. “I also really love music.”

“So, uh, heat induced shock explosions?” Ava laughed, already speaking.

“Yeah, it’s where somethings temperature suddenly changes, causing an explosion. It’s what makes plasma so effective on people, because we’re mostly water, it instantly evaporates, and explosively so.” Now Samantha was raising her eyebrow at her friend.

“You actually understood him?” she nodded, causing Samantha to roll her eyes at her. “Joy, I’m stuck around two war nuts. This is going to be a fun walk.” My focus shifted back to the area around me, not even paying any attention to the playful argument the two women had broken into. Suddenly, I heard one of them yelp, narrowly avoiding running into them as they suddenly stopped. I glanced forward at them as the Avian grabbed her rear.

“Why the heck did you smack my ass!?” she was speaking directly to me, all of her feathers violently puffed out, and absolutely bewildering me.

“I… what are you talking about?”  Ava was glaring at me in a way that seemed like she was trying to melt steel with her eyes, but Samantha glanced around, almost looking confused.

“You heard me! Why the hell did you smack my ass, perv!” I was totally bewildered until I heard a snigger in my ear, feeling someone’s breath on my neck.

“I really have no idea what you are talking about!” I forcefully stepped back, feeling my shoulder hit something solid, hoping the two girls didn’t notice that part of the movement.

“Oh, don’t try to play dumb!” I shrugged my shoulders, still acting bewildered and hoping they bought it.

“Really, i…” she shook her head, turning on the spot as she cut me off.

“just shut up, I know you did it. Come on Sammy.” She grabbed Samantha’s hand and began walking again, dragging her away, to which she still had a bewildered expression on her face.

“Wait up!” I started to follow when she flipped her middle finger up, aiming the gesture back at me. I groaned and slowed, letting them get a fair way ahead of me before I trudged along after them.

()

Falco slipped through the doorway into the apartment, making sure the door was shut before he deactivated his stealth field. A faint pop announced the field turning off, Falco’s body returning into view. He breathed a sigh of relief, finally glad that he could see his body again as he stepped further into the small living room, only to find himself face to face with a very angry looking human teenager.

“What are you doing, Falco!? You could have blown both of our cover’s today!” he just smirked, stepping past him and plopping on the couch that had been left by the previous owner.

“Oh, quit complaining! It was all just good fun!” he crossed his arms, still glaring at Falco.

“So physically assaulting a girl is just ‘good fun’?” he grunted, smirking.

“Dude, you are way out of wack with the sex scene, aint ya?” the teen looked utterly bewildered, causing Falco to burst out laughing, being cut off by Fox’s voice.

“Falco! Need your help with something!” much to the kids clear annoyance, he rolled up off the couch at Fox’s voice, stepping into the small only bedroom the apartment had, where Fox was pacing back and forth like a caged animal.

“Yo.” He barely glanced up as he was clearly lost in thought.

“Uh, well, um, can you come with me over too Brookfield? I gotta go visit my parents and well, I could use some back up.” Falco grinned, knowing from stories from both Katt and Slippy that his parents were quite entertaining. At least for visitors. Not so much for Fox, depending on the day.

“Sure. I hear they are always entertaining!” Fox’s shoulders slumped, glaring at the Avian.

“Yeah, maybe for you.” He stepped out into the living room after he spoke, already speaking to Chris. “Hey Chris, you got the night watch tonight. And might be on your own for tomorrow. I’ll see if I cant get slippy down here to get you a break.” He nodded, walking over to one of the unopened duffel bags and quickly opening it, revealing the mass of firearms with in, carefully selecting the largest of them, a massive long barreled rifle with a rectangular break on the end of the barrel, and a grey metal body. Falco gave him a bewildered expression as the kid dug in another of the bags, extracting a massive magazine, bigger than the Avian’s hand.

“What. The. Flying. Fuck. Is that?” the kid barely glanced up as he loaded yellow shiny bullets the size of carrots into the magazine.

“It’s a fifty caliber, semi-automatic anti-material rifle, designation M one-oh-seven. It has a two to twenty-four power scope with a built in ballistic computer that automatically detects atmospheric conditions and adjusts the scope accordingly.” Falco rolled his eyes before letting his forehead fall into his hand once more.

“And what do you plan on doing with that monstrosity?” he wordlessly pointed up at the roof before ramming the mag in and cycling the massive bolt on the weapon. Fox placed a hand on Falco’s shoulder to gain his attention, gently shaking his head at the Avian. Falco shrugged and followed him to the door, and with in minutes, he and Fox were out on the highway, starting the several hour drive to Fox’s childhood home.

()

Fox groaned as he pulled into the long drive leading to his old home, grimacing as he looked at it. home hadn’t changed one bit since his child hood, with it’s fairly good sized slopping lawn leading up to the sprawling single story home. The garage was actually located in the basement, the driveway leading into a ramp leading there. Fox’s father had set up a small workshop to work on his prized sports car down there, as well as what he called his ‘man cave’, a massive home theater filled with several vintage arcade machines, a fish tank, and more movie memorabilia than Fox could fathom. The up stairs was fairly simply designed around an open feeling, the front door opening into a large combined living room and dining room, the kitchen only separated off by the tile floor and a granite topped island breakfast bar. To one’s right after entering was a hall leading to the bedrooms, two on the back side of the house, and the master toward the front. There was also a bathroom and back yard access on the side with the two bedrooms, fox’s old room being the one at the end of the hall.

“Well, we gonna go in?” Fox glanced at Falco and gave him a sheepish grin, beyond nervous as to what was in store for him after he had been gone for nearly three years. With out another word, he stepped out of the car and stepped up the walk leading to the front door, the smell of cooking food slipping into his nostrils even through the house. He knocked the second he reached the door, finding himself face to face with his mother as the door was flung open. she looked much like himself, but without the white stripe along the center of her head, her fur being a solid orange color with a little more red than his, and deep green eyes, darker than his own. She instantly threw her arms around him, squealing at the top of her lungs, and likely waking any nearby neighbors that had yet to have awoken for the morning.

“Foxy! It’s great to see you again! It’s been sooo long since you came to visit!” his response was almost the exact opposite of her near explosive one, being calm and almost bored. But he couldn’t stop the small wag of his tail, still glad to see her again.

“Hi mom. It’s good to see you too.” She finally released him from the bear hug, looking him up and down for a second before she glanced at Falco.

“And who is this?” Falco smirked, holding his hand out to her and speaking before Fox could.

“Falco Lombardi. Ace Pilot of the Star Fox team.” Fox glared at him, nearly elbowing him as he spoke.

“Oh, Ace pilot? I thought all of you guys were aces?” Fox groaned, his ears pressed up against his head.

“Yes mom, we are all aces, he just is full of himself.” Fox glared at Falco, who just puffed up his feathers a bit in a very prideful fashion. “Can we come in?” she smiled and stepped aside, Fox instantly scanning the room for his father, who he quickly spotted on one of the breakfast stools, facing the door with a coffee mug in hand. James McCloud looked almost identical to his son, or, more accurately, Fox looked almost identical to him, from their brilliant orange fur and color pattern, to their emerald green eyes. His ever present sun glasses were resting on the island ready to be grabbed when he decided to move, being indoors at home being one of the only times he didn’t wear them. If it wasn’t for the greying spots in his fur, he would be nearly indistinguishable from Fox, their builds being as identical as their looks.

“Hey Fox. How’s Star Fox?” he shrugged, instantly moving over to the counter and dropping onto a stool beside his father.

“Not bad. Been a little tight budget wise, but hey, I’d rather have very little work than a whole lot of work. Lots of work usually means a big conflict.” James smirked, swirling around his mug once or twice as he turned back to the morning’s paper.

“So what’s this mission you got going on?” Fox shrugged, guessing it was alright to tell him.

“Guarding some human girl. Pepper doesn’t even know why, but Andross’s goons seem to be targeting her.” James nodded thoughtfully, taking a sip from his coffee as Falco moved to the other side of the island to see what was cooking on the stove.

“So I heard you guys picked up another new member after that Krystal lady?” Fox heard his mother scoff at the mentioning of Krystal, also sending a stabbing pain through Fox’s chest.

“Yeah, he’s human actually. Really good on the ground and brought this battle suit from earth. The thing is awesome. Held off an entire regiment on his own in it.” James nodded his head in approval still sipping on his coffee.

“So, found any new lady friends yet?” Fox glanced up at his mother as she spoke, where she was tending to breakfast. Falco was standing beside her, sniggering, to which Fox had a sinking feeling about.

“No. not at the moment.” James leaned closer to him, whispering into his ear.

“Or do you got yourself a man friend with bird boy?” Fox nearly gagged right then and there, his dad leaning away with a sly smirk on his face.

“ew, what the fuck dad!” his smirk remained unchanged as Falco pipped in.

“Uh, what’s ew?” Fox looked at him, a pained expression on his face.

“Dad seems to have gotten the impression that I brought my significant other here with me.” Falco cracked up laughing, fox shivering just from the thought of it, and glaring at the person he hoped would have his back.

“Aw, come on Foxy, that doesn’t sound half bad, does it now.” Falco cockily winked at Fox as he leaned on the counter, the corners of his beak up turned.

“Really Falco, why do you gotta pick on me too?!” Falco just laughed again, Fox’s father joining the avian.

“What, there’s no fault in asking? There is nothing wrong with being gay.” He was smiling at Fox, his eyes filled with mirth, which only caused Fox’s ears and whiskers to droop.

“Dad no, just… stop, please, I aint gay, alright!” James rolled eyes at Fox, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

“Oh, come on, I’m just messing with you, you make it too easy!” his mother suddenly pipped up as she dished eggs and bacon onto plates to serve the group, a fifth plate being set out as well, confusing Fox.

“Well, I’m just glad you are no longer with that…. _Whore._ ” Fox growled ever so slightly as his ears flattened even more, knowing exactly who she was refereeing to.

“Krystal was not a whore.” His mother instantly snapped back, wielding a fork almost like a weapon.

“Really, then what do you call those outfits she wore so much? She was showing her goods off to every man that passed her!” Fox’s dad chipped in, a small smirk on his face.

“Well, I always thought she seemed fine enough.” Fox couldn’t help but groan, knowing that his dad didn’t mean the normal definition of fine.

“James! I am your wife!” his smirk remained the same as he responded, taking another drink of his coffee.

“I know that, but that doesn’t mean I cant enjoy some eye candy.” Falco seemed to be thoroughly enjoying this whole conversation, silently laughing to himself.

“I don’t care if you think someone is good looking, but I will not have that _slut_ spoken about in my house!” Fox nearly exploded at her, fighting off anger as he spoke very quietly.

“She is not a slut. I’ve told you time and time again, she is from a different planet that has yet to develop even conventional air travel. Their customs are different than ours, as well as their garb. Her outfits are actually quite conservative as far as her people go.” James quietly muttered something to himself that only Fox heard, making him mentally roll his eyes at the older vulpine. Even so, he couldn’t help but smile at his crude sense of humor.

“Damn, I shoulda moved to Cerinia for retirement.” Fox just gave falco a puzzled look as Falco suddenly spoke up.

“So uh, what’s the fifth plate for? I thought Eli was on Katina or something for college.” Fox’s mother glanced at the avian, smiling as she spoke.

“You’ll see. I invited a guest.” Fox took a breath to speak, but too late as he heard the door open, turning to see a long eared female fennec stepping through. He instantly rounded on his mother, glaring at her even more, his tail seeming to nearly explode in size.

“What the hell is _she_ doing here?!” Fox’s mother looked taken aback, but was unable to speak as the new comer was already doing so.

“Now is that the way to treat an old friend Foxy?” he groaned as the woman dropped into the seat beside him, smiling.

“We haven’t been friends since we broke up eight years ago Fara.” She shrugged, pulling a plate closer to her.

“Well, let’s change that.”


	3. Chapter Three

Samantha smiled as her feet carried her through the familiar streets nearby her school, on her way back from lunch with her friend. It was a gorgeous day, not too hot, not too windy or humid either with the perfect amount of cloud cover.

“I’m surprised he didn’t follow us off campus, with how he’s been hanging over us.” Samantha glanced at Callie, leaving her smile in place.

“Well, he’s probably just really lonely. You realize no one talks to him and it’s been nearly three weeks since he came to school.” Callie glared at her, a rare expression to see on the canines face.

“Well, after what he did to Ava, and following us around everywhere, I don’t blame anyone for not wanting anything to do with that pervert! And how we found him in the girls locker room this morning?” Samantha shrugged, understanding her reasoning. But something still felt off about the situation, and she couldn’t place what it was. It was a strange feeling she kept having, ever since he had shown up, as if someone was around her that she couldn’t see.

“I don’t know. Maybe it really was just an accident?” Callie grunted, seeming to be still annoyed about the topic, and clearly disagreeing with Samantha. “Anyway, why don’t we enjoy this nice day while we can?” Callie grinned, finally seeming happy again.

“Yeah, but don’t forget that we got to set up the autumn festival after school!” Samantha couldn’t help but grin at that, having had a blast at the festival last year. It was a major Cornerian tradition, almost like Easter back home but not built off a religion, centered around celebrating the years harvest and work. The school was hosting a massive party at it, using the wide open space to host dozens of games over the weekend.

“Ah, I almost totally forgot about it too! This year is gonna be amazing!” she couldn’t help but grin, unable to not think of all the things her and her mother had done the year prior. “Damn, mom is working this year though.”

“Well, you can spend the weekend with me!” Samantha grinned, having completely forgotten their earlier conversation.

“That sounds awesome!” the two of them continued to chat about what all they were going to do, barely even noticing that they were back at school. Just as they were about to step through the gates, Samantha suddenly froze, getting a feeling that she shouldn’t quite place. Almost like a strong negative aura, like nothing she had felt before. She looked around, not even sure of what she was looking for.

“Hey, you alright Sammy?” she almost ignored Callie’s worried question as she scanned the buildings and streets that she could see, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end.

“Nothing, just, I don’t know, weird feeling. Probably something I ate.” She tried to shrug the feeling off before she moved into the school yard, but no matter how hard she tried, she kept finding herself glancing over her shoulder.

()

I looked around the area around me, somewhat bewildered at what was going on. Students were setting up small open tents and cheap wooden structures all through the schools sports field, the flurry of activity making it easy for myself to hide, but nigh impossible for me to track my target. I quickly slipped a small mic and earpiece over my ear, calling up Fox who was sitting somewhere with a decent view of the area.

“Hey Chris. You look pretty lost down there.” I groaned, not for the first time wanting to be done with this job.

“Tell me about it.” he chuckled as I moved through the crowd, staring at my tactical pad on my wrist, a human device very similar to Cornerian wrist transmitters, but designed for special forces and commanders to monitor the battlefield. I had added some more civilian like tech to it, giving it the ability to call phones and transmitters as well as process combat data. I currently had a scanner running off of Fox’s scope feed, trying to find Samantha in the flurry of people working on setting up the festival ground.

“So I heard you had an adventure in the girls locker room this morning?” I groaned at the memory, subconsciously rubbing my face from where the female avian had slapped me with enough force to put me on my backside.

“Don’t remind me. There was a recording device set up in there transmitting to someone. Already gotten the thing to Slippy so he can figure out who it belongs too.” Fox sighed over the comm line my face starting to turn bright red as I knew what was coming.

“And? I know that part, Falco said you got caught?” I stayed silent for a second as I passed a construction that looked a lot like a miniaturized electronic training range.

“I got assaulted by the girl, Ava. Put me on my ass with one swing.” Fox cackled through the ear piece, causing me to groan once more.

“Dude, seriously, I think you need some chick help.”

“Says the one who’s mother is trying to loop him in with an ex he hates. Speaking of which, don’t you have a date tonight?” this time I heard Fox groan, another voice joining the comm line.

“Nice one Chris! Burn dude, burned! Better yet, burned by the noob of burning! Dude, you are just sad Fox!” I let the silence stretch for a moment before I responded, my eyes flicking to the entrance to the field, where there was a steel arch proclaiming the field name. I could clearly see the canine Callie walking along with someone who was unmistakable as my charge, a ladder balanced between them. Their other two friends were waiting for them at the arch with some sort of orange banner.

“Falco. Shut up.” I muted him in the call after I spoke, closing the tac pad on my wrist before moving toward the front gate. As I approached, they set the ladder up, another being already set on one side of the arch. Before I could get there, Samantha and Ava, being the two tallest of the group of friends, were up the ladders, trying to tie the banner up onto the steel frame. One of the joints on Samantha’s ladder was looking loose, almost as if it was about to come apart. I slowed to a stop in the archway, speaking up to her. “Hey, uh, you sure you should be up on that ladder?” she glanced down at me and snorted slightly.

“yeah. I’m sure. I think I can handle myself thank you.” I cocked my head at her, my hands on my hips.

“No, seriously, that ladder looks like its about to collapse, you might want to….” My voice dropped out as a metallic crack filled the air, the joint snapping and causing the ladder to fall toward me, Samantha instinctively leaping off. I reacted almost instantly, placing myself straight under where Samantha was going to fall, and being knocked over as she fell on me, screaming the whole way down. The ladder, having been rocked back by her leap, was still falling toward us, myself now on my back with the girl on top of me, letting me easily roll both of us out of the way. I felt the ladder clip my arm as it slammed into the concrete. All of this happened in less than a pair of seconds, leaving the people around the entrance stunned. I glanced over at the steel frame of the ladder beside me before glancing beneath me, where the girl was staring wide eyed at me. “…. Get down….. Are you okay?” I was still hovering over her as I spoke, my arms fully extended so I wouldn’t be laying on her, my knee high between her legs to help prop me up as well.

“Uh yeah. I think.” She seemed totally stunned as I stood, offering her a hand up. “How did you know the ladder was going to break?” she had sat up, but her eyes were bouncing between me and the steel ladder that would have severely injured her had she been under it.

“the joint was quite obviously falling apart…” She smiled sheepishly as I helped her up, her mouth opening to speak, only to be drowned out by someone else.

“That was totally awesome!” Callie shouted that at the top of her lungs, most of the people in the area coming rushing over, giving me pats on the back and a few cheers, causing me to want to disappear on the spot, sorely wishing I had a cloaking unit.

“Um, thanks.” Samantha’s quiet voice drew my attention, seeing her just smiling at me, something that made me a thousand times more uncomfortable than any crowd ever could.

“Uh, don’t mention it? anyone else would have done the same.” She chuckled, brushing hair out of her eyes just before her eyes flicked down to my arm, turning into saucers.

“Your arm! You’re bleeding!” I glanced down, seeing the small gash on my arm where the ladder had sliced the skin open. I shrugged, using that arm to reach into my cargo pocket, grabbing the small medkit I kept in there out.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” I quickly pulled a roll of gauze out, wrapping it around the wound several times before securing it, a faint trace of red bleeding through the brilliant white fabric.

“Nothing! You should go to a doctor! Or something!” I shrugged again, double checking that the gauze was secure before stuffing the med kit away.

“I’m fine, really.”

“What happened here!? Is anyone hurt!?” A teacher’s shout drew all of our attention’s silencing the small crowd. The teacher was one of the few human teachers, having managed to earn a Cornerian teaching license. She was a PE teacher, and had spent time as an EMT for a time.

“Ladder broke, everyone is f-“ I was cut off as Samantha spoke, glaring at me for a second.

“Everyone is not fine! You have a gash on your arm!” I shrugged again, already responding, more to her than anything else.

“Again, I’m fine, see, already patched up. No need for a medic.” Ava gently smacked my shoulder, rougher than was really necessary, as she responded to me.

“Hey, cut the tough guy act already. You saved the gal, you’re done, now scram!”

“Ava!” Samantha looked beyond annoyed, the teacher speaking before anyone else could.

“Everyone settle down, you, come with me. Everyone else, just get back to work, we got a festival to prepare for!” I followed the very fit woman away from everyone else, not noticing both Callie and Samantha watching us leave for a second. The gym teacher was a little taller than myself, with male short hair, black in color and very well trimmed. It clashed very well with her sharp features and sharp green eyes.

“Alright, let me take a look at that.” She gestured toward the rough bandage on my arm, myself instinctively shying away.

“It’s fine Miss Foley, I know how to take care of an injury.” She smiled, cocking her head at me.

“We know Mr. McGlocklin. The principle told all of the staff your… special case.” I took another step back from her, now suddenly not really trusting her.

“What?” she smiled warmly to me, in a way that I could not deny it as being trust worthy.

“About being a child soldier, and spending almost half your life on a battlefield. Although I don’t doubt your ability to treat an injury, a second opinion is always good. Lesson for life for you.” I nodded, slowly unwrapping the wound and pulling the medkit back out. She quickly inspected the wound before wrapping it in fresh gauze. “Alright, it actually isn’t bad at all. Just don’t go doing anything stupid with it.” I nodded as she balled up the dirty dressing, stuffing it into the now empty gauze pack.

“I won’t.” she nodded and waved me off, letting me head back to the sports field.

()

“I cant believe you asked him to join us today.” Callie spoke as Samantha went about attempting to control her mass of brown hair, tying it back into a ponytail, and barely glancing at the canine beside her. Callie, on the other hand was brushing a section of her fur, trying to make it look smooth and silky, not that it wasn’t already.

“He did save me yesterday. Maybe he isn’t as bad as he seems. We just got to give him a chance.” Callie rolled her eyes, setting her brush down. Samantha had spent the night at Callie’s apartment, which was larger than the one Samantha shared with her mother and belonged entirely to Callie. Paid for out of an allowance from her parents, which was large enough to pay for her apartment and everything else, where others had to work for it. it wasn’t an insanely large amount, mind you, Callie actually being very savvy with her money.

“Sounds like someone has fallen for the creepy war nut.” Sammy glared at her, a small smirk fighting it’s way out.

“No, I haven’t! I just owe him something for yesterday, and since he seems lonely, I thought he might like having a friend for the weekend.” Callie rolled her eyes at Samantha, quickly slipping into her clothes for the day, some tight designer blue jeans and an equally tight cloudy yellow t-shirt that showed more of the girl’s white spaghetti strap undershirt than Samantha thought necessary. Samantha herself was wearing some loose jeans and a faded grey t-shirt, simply wanting to be comfortable.

“Pfft, coulda fooled me.” Samantha glared at her, starting to get a little annoyed with her.

“Callie…. I don’t have a crush on him, okay? Now stop it. please.” Callie just laughed as they left the small bathroom the two had been in, giving her shoulder a gentle slap.

“Oh I’m just messing with you Sammy! I think it’s cool you invited him, maybe he really isn’t all that bad after all!” Samantha just rolled her eyes as she headed for the door, Callie grabbing her small purse as she followed.

“So do you remember where he lives?” Callie nodded, leading the way up stairs to an apartment on the opposite side of the building from Callie’s. Callie gestured at Samantha and the door, Samantha taking a deep breath before moving to knock on the door, only for it to be flung open before her.

()

I gently pulled the slide on my old M1911 handgun, cocking the weapon before I let the slide slip forward, making a metallic scrapping sound. I quickly pressed the trigger back, not touching the back of the grip, testing the pressure safety built into the back of the pistol. The trigger stayed firmly in place, so I quickly flicked it’s main safety on and properly squeezed the trigger, to the same result, just before flicking the safety off and squeezing one more time. I smiled as the weapon clicked, completing the simple functions check of the weapon. It didn’t take me long at all to load up two magazines with forty-five caliber rounds, quickly sliding one of the eight round magazines into the grip of the weapon and yanking the slide back. As soon as the first round was chambered, I flicked the safety back on and slipped the weapon into a holster safely hidden at my back. The second loaded magazine went with it, in a slot built into the hidden holster. As soon as I was done with that, I loaded several long thirty six round magazines with more forty-five caliber rounds, dropping them into a small, single strap go bag, following them with a military Kriss Vector, it’s stock folded over it’s side for storage. I quickly slung the bag, about to head for the door when Fox stopped me.

“Seriously? I don’t think you need the bag kid.” I shrugged, one hand still on the sling for the bag.

“It has my vector and such in it.” he stared at me for a second, a clear ‘And?’ expression on his face. “I….. might need them?” Fox sighed, grabbing the bag and trying to pull it off me. I instantly hardened my grip, not wanting to drop the bag. Something in the back of my mind was telling me not to go unarmed today. “No. I’m not going unarmed. Got a bad feeling.” Fox chuckled, still trying to get the bag off my shoulder.

“You always got a bad feeling kid.” I glared at him, still firmly holding onto the bag.

“And how often have I been right?” Fox finally let go, one of his ears cocking to the side as he raised an eyebrow at me.

“Do you really have that bad of a feeling about this? I mean, you got your sidearm right?” I nodded, answering both questions unintentionally.

“Yeah. I don’t know, just have a feeling that today would be the day to make a move. Open city lots of people, plenty of cover for movement, police would be tied up with the rowdier partiers. I would make a move today.” Fox shrugged plopping into a chair set up in the apartment’s small living room.

“Or are you just nervous about hanging out with a girl all day?” I shrugged, honestly not caring at all.

“I honestly have no idea what you are talking about Fox.” He rolled his eyes at me, smirking.

“Come on man, you’ve spent most of the past three weeks watching over this girl, and even I have to admit, she’s pretty, even if she isn’t even remotely like me. Or close to my age.” I raised an eyebrow at him, my mind inadvertently going back over the past few weeks. And I couldn’t help the small rush of blood up into my checks.

“Yeah, maybe a little. But my job is to protect her, not swoon her. I don’t mix business and pleasure Fox.” He chuckled, smirking at me

“Wait, you have a side other than business?” I nodded, already moving for the door.

“Yeah, do you not remember the car or the mech? And what happened to that date last night?” he groaned, one hand covering his eyes.

“I didn’t go. Tried to hide and got bombarded with calls from mom until midnight last night. Anyway, the car is just friggan cool, and the mech doesn’t count. It is work related after all.” I shrugged, walking through the hall to the door, opening the door only to instantly freeze, Samantha and Callie having literally been about to knock. I felt my gut flutter for a second, feeling like I was about to puke before I tried to shove it down.

()

Samantha smiled warmly at Chris, trying to calm his startled appearance while doing a quick glance at his apparel. He was wearing some dark grey cargo pants, one of his usual items, and a blue short sleeve button up shirt, completely unbuttoned, showing his white t-shirt beneath. A black utilitarian strap ran over his chest, a small holder holding what he used as a communication device, a modified military tactical pad. Essentially an advanced smart phone able to be mounted on a wrist for use on the battlefield, managing a soldier’s HUD system. And she only knew any of that because of Ava, who Samantha had been slowly learning that her friend of several years knew a lot more about warfare than she let on. Why he carried one was beyond her.

“Um, hi.” Samantha spoke as kind sounding as she could, suddenly feeling much more nervous about this.

“Hello. Lets get going.” He stepped right past them, barely even looking at the two of them as he did so. On his back was a small single strap bag that clearly had something in it.

“So uh, what’s in the bag?” Callie and Samantha were both raising eyebrows at him, mirroring each other’s expressions.

“just some food. In case we don’t find something.” He blushed slightly, earning him a small smirk from Callie.

“I like the way you think. At least when it comes to food.” Samantha smirked as well, walking past them in the hall.

“Well, come on, let’s get going!” it didn’t take them long to walk the two miles to the school, Samantha and Callie idly chatting the whole time. Chris on the other hand, had remained totally silent the whole time, his eyes on their surroundings.

“you know chris, you can say something from time to time. It’s not illegal.” Callie’s voice was very sweet and playful in a way.

“Of course. Just have nothing to say.” The group stopped at the main gate to the school, Samantha smirking as she spoke to him.

“you said you like music, why not start there?” he groaned, his shoulders dropping slightly.

“Alright. I have a pretty good music collection. Couple thousand songs, all from earth.” Samantha raised her eyebrow, unable to help but giggle a bit.

“You know, depending on the artist, you could make a fortune selling that here. A lot of Cornerians like human music, and most humans didn’t get a chance to bring much with them.” Callie’s voice was as light and sweet as it usually was, with a little bit of deviousness bleeding through.

“I doubt I have anything special in there.” Samantha beckoned the group to follow, passing through the main gate and into the school, large groups of people mixed with vendor stalls and games filling the area around the school.

“well, let me scroll through it sometime and ill let you know.” He shrugged at Samantha’s words, seeming to barely be paying any attention to either of them, his focus being entirely on their surroundings. She glanced at his forearm, seeing it still had gauze wrapped around it. “How’s your arm doing by the way?” he glanced down at it and shrugged, going right back to scanning the crowd.

“It’s fine. I’ve had much worse in the past.” She smirked, gently elbowing him to try to get his attention back.

“Like what? And I’m over here ya know, the crowd aint the ones talking to you!” he turned bright red, still only glancing at her.

“well, I’ve been shot before…. And I really do not like crowds.” He seemed to be shriveling up on the spot, looking more and more nervous as people passed.

“You’ve been shot before!?” Samantha’s glanced at Callie, who had been focused on the carnival games around them. Her eye’s were wide with shock, staring at him.

“Well, yeah, several times actually, both by plasma and bullets. Plasma hurts way more though.”

“But you are just a kid!” Samantha spoke up before Chris could, smiling.

“I’ve been shot before too. Happened while i was fleeing earth. I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot more humans have been at least shot at before.” Now Callie was staring wide eyed at her.

“But why have you not told me this before!?” Samantha rolled her eyes, veering the group toward one of the games set up there.

“It was just a ricochet, and I’ve shown you the scar on my shoulder from it, silly. It’s part of why I hate guns so much. Now come on, lets play some games!”

()

               Callie frowned as she glanced back behind them, seeing the beyond bored expression on Chris’s face. They had managed to get him to play a few of the games, finding that he had some considerable skills at a ring toss that had abnormally heavy rings, able to practically stack the rings up anywhere he pleased, making dropping them over boxes all too easy for him. But a human game throwing a light air filled ball into a hoop, he seemed absolutely terrible at, over shooting every time. They had touched a few others, but he had shown absolutely no interest the whole time. She sighed drawing Samantha’s attention, who had been busy thoroughly enjoying an ice cream cone, Callie having already finished her own.

               “What is it Callie?” she glanced at her friend and sighed again before speaking.

               “I feel like all we are doing is boring the crap out of Chris back there. I mean, you would think he would have been ecstatic to not be alone but, well, he clearly isn’t.” Samantha shrugged, still eating the ice cream as she listened.

               “Maybe carnival games aren’t his thing?” Callie shrugged her eyes scanning the crowd as she thought of what to say. Her eyes stopped on a shooting game, a small smile slipping onto her muzzle.

               “Hey, he’s always mentioning guns, why don’t we go try that?” Samantha groaned, the last of the ice cream cone gone.

               “Why!? I hate guns!” Callie grabbed her hand, getting Chris’s attention as she dragged Sam along behind her.

               “Oh, come on, they aren’t real! Lets go chris!” she barely glanced at the other human behind them, seeing him shuffle forward a little faster to keep up. They arrived at the stall, seeing a set of screens displaying bunches of cartoony Aparoids and other deadly creatures from around the galaxy.

               “Um, you two sure you want to play this? Looks really stupid.” Callie gave Chris an offended expression as he stepped up next to them, quickly shoving him forward as she responded.

               “Just give it a try.” He groaned taking up a booth next to her as she payed for both of their plays, Samantha slinking away, just far enough to not really have a clear view but still able to be seen by them, a disgusted look on her face. Callie scooped up one of the stall’s ‘weapons’, which looked much like the famous carbine used by most Cornerian forces. She felt a little silly holding the toy, the cord snaking away from the handle making it all the more complicated to hold.

               “I hate stockless, piece of-“ Callie near instantly cut him off, knowing what he was about to say.

               “Hey, watch your language, there are kids here too.” He shrugged, holding the weapon with a sort of confidence she didn’t expect to see from him, one hand on the handle, one lightly gripping the section under the barrel. He also kept his index finger straight, covering the side of the area the trigger was in, unlike Callie who had already squeezed the trigger several times. He was also leaning forward slightly, raising the toy to his eye so he could look down the thing, whereas callie was just roughly pointing it at the screen. Everything about his position seemed calm and composed, totally relaxed, yet tensed and ready to move at the same time. The person started the game, small pulsing sounds emanating from the toys as they pulled the trigger repeatedly. Callie laughed a little, having fun trying to shoot the targets, missing way more often than not. She glanced at his section of the screen, her jaw slipping open as he systematically hit every single target, the toy in his hand barely moving as his finger squeezed the trigger over and over, his score climbing higher and higher. A few other people had started to notice, stopping to watch as he neared the perfect score, which the stand advertised that it would win you a thousand credits for reaching it, no one on the leader board shown between rounds even being more than three quarters of the way there. Suddenly, the last ten targets bounced onto the screen, three of them managing to slide off the screen before he could hit them, making the only three he had missed.

               “Whoa. Dude, I’ve seen a few CDF guys play this today, and not one of them got a ninety seven! You almost got the perfect score dude!” he shrugged, clearly not caring.

               “damned thing needs to be zeroed. Shoots so far left its not even funny.” Callie frowned at the disgruntled expression on his face, the attendant for the stall speaking before she could.

               “Well, a second place prize gets you anything in the stall.” His eyes started flicking between the mass of plush toys filling the space, looking utterly bewildered. Callie instantly bounced beside him, her eyes picking out a plush version of an earth fox, a creature that she already knew that Samantha loved.

               “Get that little plush fox! Samantha would love it!” he shrugged, the attendant getting it down without a word being spoken. He took the toy and followed Callie as she walked over to where Samantha was skulking. “Hey Sam! Chris got himself a present for you!” she glanced up at them, one eyebrow raised, and her arms still crossed.

               “um, well here.” He held out the toy, looking completely unsure of himself. She took the toy from him, a small smile spreading across her face.

               “its cute, thanks.” She suddenly hugged him, something that he clearly did not know what to with. He gingerly hugged her back, clearly more than willing to let go when she did.

               “Well, uh, I’m going to go get us some food. See ya in a bit.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder as he spoke, near instantly turning and walking away before either of them could respond. Samantha was still smiling, looking at the plush toy.

               “Well, that was sweet of him.” Callie smirked, still a little puzzled by his reaction.

               “Yeah. you know, he was scary good at that. The guns thing.” Samantha raised an eyebrow at Callie.

               “does that seem like something I would care about?” Callie shrugged, glancing around the crowd around them, trying to spot him.

               “Hmm, I wonder if he’s found something to eat yet?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are more chapters too this, but i'm not going to post them now. just testing the waters on here


	4. Chapter 4

I tried to get my body to stop shaking as I searched for a food stall, not even realizing that I had already passed several already. Suddenly, the tacpad on my chest started vibrating. I quickly pulled my earpiece from my pocket, seating it on my ear as I answered the call.

                “What is it?” Falco’s voice responded, him being the one pulling sniper duty today.

                “Dude, you lost or something? You been wandering in circles for a good while now.” I stopped where I was, my eyes closing as people simply swarmed all around me.

                “I’m fine Falco, just doing a sweep.”

                “Pfft, as if. Just thought you should know, that Canine you been hanging out with just got dragged off by some other canine.” I was already reaching for my sidearm when he spoke again, clearly seeing the action through his scope. “Whoa there, not that kind of dragged off dude! Chillax, as in, she went and joined someone else. Ya might want to get back over to Sam ASAP. Shesh, gun crazy moron.” I sighed and closed the call, making my way back toward the girl. I was back to wandering the crowd with my eyes, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end, unsure as to why for a few seconds. Then I realized that there were two people not far away from where the girl was still standing, by herself, both wearing jackets. One was a German Shepard looking canine, the other an ape. Both of them seemed to be focused on where Samantha was. I suddenly sped up, feeling adrenaline start coursing through my body, all of my senses kicking into overdrive. I fought the urge to reach for my weapon as I reached her, glancing to where the two figures were, seeing them paying attention to what I was doing.

                “We need to leave. Now.” I didn’t look at her as I spoke, keeping my focus on them.

                “Uh, why?” I almost cursed, the two figures suddenly splitting away, moving through the crowds and becoming very hard to spot.

                “Just trust me, we gotta go!” I reached back without looking, my other hand already snaking under my shirt to secure my weapon. I felt her with my fingers, instantly grabbing her soft flesh to try and drag her with me. Almost as soon as I grabbed her, I felt a fist slam into my face, my vision blackening for a second as I dropped to my knees. small specks of false light danced in my vision as I started to stand back up. “What the hel…” my voice dropped out as I looked at her, her arms covering her chest, a wide eyed glare on her now bright red face. “Samantha, we need to go, now!”

                “No, just stay away from me creep!” I took a step towards her, already starting to speak again.

                “Seriously, we ne-“ before I could finish, she was slapping me across the face, disorienting me for a second. By the time I had looked up, she had disappeared into the crowd. My tacpad went off again and I instantly answered. “What Falco?”

                “How’d it feel?” he had an almost maniacal delight to his voice.

                “It hurt like hell, you tracking still?” the people around me where already ignoring me again. Falco cracked up laughing over the call.

                “Dude, not the punch! Her tit?” my shoulders slumped, now realizing why she had suddenly become so hostile.

                “Damn it, will you just tell me where she went?” he chuckled again, not really responding for a few seconds.

                “Sorry, taking a bit to get her back into scope. Why the freak out bro?” My eyes where already scanning the crowd again, searching for the canine or the ape I had spotted.

                “Two people wearing jackets, were watching her.”

                “Dude, people wear jackets here all the time. Probably just guys coming from Katina. Too used to the heat to think these are normal temps.” I started to move toward the exit of the field, noticing something on the ground near one of the support struts. Once I was closer, I recognized the small plush fox toy I had given Samantha. I sighed and picked it up, staring at it for a few seconds before stuffing it away in my bag. “Ah shit, outside the gate, move! Got a couple guys in jackets bagging her!” I cursed, the handgun slipping out of the holster, no one in the immediate area noticing it as I sprinted out of the schools gate, seeing a truck with a covered bed, the door slamming shut just before screeching away, the human gas powered vehicle not being limited like Corneria’s electrics.

                “Green pick up, human, no plates, covered bed. Can you track it?” Falco instantly acknowledged, leaving me in a mad sprint for a utility truck left parked outside the apartment we were using, a small jet bike being hidden inside.

* * *

 

                Samantha stormed through the crowd, her fingers tightly clutching the fox doll as if she was trying to pop it’s head off simply by squeezing it. she arrived at the arch off the field, looking at the doll one last time before angrily throwing it aside.

                “damn pervert.” She stomped her way out of the school yard, headed back home, not noticing the two people following her. she heard rushed footsteps behind her, turning to find a canine rushing forward, a Taser in his hand. Before she could think to respond, he had jammed the Taser into her side, covering her mouth to muffle her scream.

* * *

 

                Samantha’s head pulsed with pain, it taking her a few seconds to even realize she was feeling it. she tried to move her hand to her temple, only to find it securely zip tied to her other hand, both being behind her back. She was lying on her side, on a very cold hard surface, confusing her for a few seconds as she sat up. Suddenly, it clicked into place, remembering the two men with the taser. Her eyes were still adjusting to the dark room when she heard someone talking.

                “Damn it, how long is it gonna be till that damned Lupine gets here!? The cops have gotta been called by now! we’re too close to her last known to be safe here!” Samantha tried to remain quiet as she struggled to her feet, a small sliver of light coming through a cracked open door being the only reason she could see the steel shipping containers walls.

                “Simmer down. Still got a couple of hours. And we’ll be fine here, very few people know this place aint being used no more. Besides, remember the paycheck Noah.” She gently nudged at the steel door, wincing as it squealed open. before she could step back, the door was yanked open, clawed digits grabbing her arm and yanking her out into an open warehouse, only lit by a group of absolutely filthy windows. She cried out as she hit the hard concrete floor, pain echoing through her shoulder from where she impacted.

                “I see you are awake now. hmph. Keep it quiet and you’ll stay that way.” A german shepard like canine was the one speaking, having been the one to yank her from the container. As he spoke, he stepped up to her and crouched in front of her face, a blaster loosely in his hand. “Got it?” she nodded frantically, absolutely terrified now, her eye’s fixed on the blaster.  “Good girl. Don’t get up.” He stood, holstering his pistol and starting to walk a ways away when a loud familiar bang filled her ears, blood spattering from the side of his head. She rolled onto her rump, trying to skitter backwards as more gunshots ripped out. A flash matched each shot up on a balcony across the warehouse from her, three more Cornerians were in the room, each one taking a pair of bullets to the chest. she couldn’t make out the figure on the balcony, being swathed in shadows. She more felt than saw another figure coming rushing from a door hidden in the darker area of the building, the orange furred fox running straight for her, blaster in hand. she shrieked and tried to back pedal more, only for him to gently grab her arm.

                “Shh, it’s okay. I’m with the cops.” She nodded, her entire body shaking, unable to rip her eyes away from the blood seeping from the fresh corpses around her, bringing up memories she never wanted to see again. She felt cold metal touch her wrists as the vulpine cut the cuffs off, just before a pair of red blaster bolts erupted from an office door, half hidden behind the container. She screamed again, flattening to the ground as the Fox fired his own red bolts back.

                “McCloud to all responders, we got a runner out the east side of the building, I think I hit him. Hostage has been secured.” She felt his hands frisk over her body before rolling her over. “Hey.” She didn’t respond, causing him to speak again. “Hey, you okay?” she nodded, her voice near silent as she responded, still shaking uncontrollably.

                “Ye-yeah, I think so.” He nodded, helping her to her feet and guiding her out a door.

* * *

 

                Callie rushed behind Chris, who she had run into on the way to a warehouse that was currently being broadcast all over the news. There were police cars all over, cops swarming the scene. She could see near the police line, a single ambulance, it’s rear doors open with Samantha sitting on it’s deck, a blanket over her shoulders. A police officer and an orange vulpine were both talking to her.

                “Sammy!” she perked up at the sound of Callie’s voice both the canine cop and the vulpine looking back at them. A pair of cops were moving to stop callie from crossing the police line, but the cop was shouting before they could reach her.

                “Let them through!” she ran past the holographic barrier, the blue strip turning red and alarming as she did so. As soon as she was at the ambulance, she was hugging her friend, who she could feel quaking in terror. Samantha was extremely pale, and shockingly cold to Callie, almost like her shaking was a shiver.

                “McCloud, let’s go discuss this in private. I think we have asked miss Warren enough questions.” Callie didn’t pay any attention to the two of them as the cop spoke, quickly walking away.

                “Are you alright Sammy?” she released her friend as she spoke, still holding the humans shoulders.

                “Yeah. I’m fine. Got a bit of a head ache but I’m okay.” Callie smiled, breathing a sigh of relief.

                “Thank goodness! When I heard you had been kidnapped, I was so worried! I cant believe you were found so quick!” she smirked, gesturing off at the vulpine that had just walked off.

                “That guy is some hotshot mercenary. Apparently one of his men saw me get nabbed and they called the cops and mounted their own little rescue mission before the cops could get here.” Callie smiled and let go of her friend, Chris suddenly speaking up, and drawing Samantha’s attention.

                “I guess he was in the right place at the right time. Just glad he killed those guys, although it would have been nice if one hadn’t gotten away.” Callie gave him a confused expression, Samantha instantly speaking up.

                “And how the hell would you know that?” he instantly turned bright red at samantha’s surprisingly angry words, pointing his thumb as the tacpad on his back pack strap.

                “Uh, the news. Been all over it?”

                “And I thought I told you to stay away from me you creep?!” he took a step back as Samantha full on shouted at him, his hands up like she had him at gun point.

                “Wait, what are you talking about!?” Callie tried to jump in before either of them could say more, Samantha grunting, her arms crossed over her chest as she continued to glare at Chris, seeming to completely ignore Callie.

                “What are you even doing here?” he slipped his bag off, pulling the small plush fox he had given her earlier out.

                “To apologize. And you, uh, dropped this.” She slipped off the ambulance, ripping the toy out of his hand and tossing it away.

                “Apology not accepted, now go away!” he sighed and walked off, back down the street he had just come down.

                “Sammy!” she glared at Callie as Callie gave her a stunned expression. “What the heck was that about?” Samantha groaned, sitting back down on the ambulance.

                “He grabbed my boob earlier.” Callie instantly blushed, going wide eyed.

                “really!?” Samantha nodded before falling back on the deck of the ambulance. “How?”

                “He just reached back and well, grabbed it. he kept saying we had to leave for some reason. He’s gotta be insane or something!”

                “Maybe he was trying to protect you? Saw something you didn’t?” Samantha snapped back up, glaring at Callie now.

                “Why? Because I just happened to get kidnapped right afterward?” Callie nodded, Samantha continuing as she slumped back over. “Wonderful. You think he just made a mistake, and I should forgive him cause it was totally fine! Yeah no, not happening!” Callie shrugged, hopping up on the edge of the ambulance.

                “Okay. Are you able to go home now?” Samantha sighed, causing a frown to form on Callie’s face.

                “No. they want me to go to the hospital for a full check up, just in case.” Callie smirked, gently smacking her friend’s thigh as she slipped off the ambulance’s deck.

                “Alright, call me when you get out, m’kay?” Samantha sat up and smiled, at least some color having returned to her face.

                “I will, see ya Callie!” callie nodded and walked back past the police line, seeing the small plush doll in the street, sighing before she scooped it up and walked toward her apartment.

                

* * *

 

                My hand tore the handgun back out of it’s holster as someone knocked on the door to the apartment, leaning into the hall leaning to it with the weapon raised. I slowly moved forward, peaking through the eye hole in the door once I was close enough, recognizing Callie in her filmy yellow shirt. The second I saw her, I relaxed, tucking the sidearm away before opening the door.

                “Hey Callie, uh, what are you doing here?” I tried to shield the rest of the hall from her, opening the door as little as possible.

                “Uh, I picked this up. Thought I would give it to you.” She was holding the small plush toy, a little dirtier than it had been. I accepted it, more than a little confused.

                “Um, thanks, I guess.” She smirked crossing her arms as she spoke, one of her eyebrows raised.

                “So did you really grab Sammy’s boob earlier?” I felt blood rushing up to my cheeks, knowing I had to have turned bright red.

                “Oh, um, yeah I really didn’t mean to. I was just trying to get her to leave…” I hoped she didn’t ask further, but realized too late that she was going to anyway.

                “Why?” I sighed, rubbing the back of my head as I tried to figure out what to say.

                “I just, uh, had a bad feeling.” Callie smiled, patting my arm.

                “Okay. Just a word of advice, pay a little more attention as to where you touch people. Give Sammy some time to cool down, she can be a little hot headed at times. See ya at school!” I nodded and waved bye to her, breathing a sigh of relief as I closed the door, sliding down it to sit up against it.

                “What, Merc life got ya down?” I groaned as Falco spoke, dropping the toy on the ground.

                “God, I hate people. Why did you two pick me for this job?” Falco chuckled, walking over to me and picking up the toy.

                “Aw, come on, it aint that you don’t like people, you just don’t know what you’re doing! Lighten up, you’ll get better! Besides, you need good social skills as a merc. Gotta be presentable and think about reputation bud!” I grunted before standing up, moving into the one small bedroom to go and sleep. “Sleeping already? It’s barely eight?” I shrugged, pulling my holster off and removing the handgun, setting both on the small bedside table in the room.

                “Yeah, and I was just in a firefight, and have been pulling most of the night watch shifts so you two can get some sleep. Good night.” I slumped onto the bed, asleep almost before my head hit the pillow.

* * *

 

                _I gathered around the small table with the other team leaders of our small rebel group, the youngest of all of them. But my lack of age was over looked by the small group, having proven time and time again as a skilled fighter and leader. On the table was one of several of our maps, mapping out the region around what remained of Colorado Springs._

_“Alright, our target is here. We expect little to no defenses, it’s no more than a landing zone. Holst’s and Roth’s teams will move in from the north, Riley and jona’s team will be providing top cover from the remains of this church here, to the north east, while Chris and my own teams will assault from the east. That should keep us out of each others lines of fire. Once in range, set up your gun teams. We will all open fire on my signal.” The speaker was a woman, in her early twenties with short black hair, cut that way so it would be out of her way. The whole group were wearing a mixture of old civilian and military plate carriers and body armor, and various military style weapons._

_“What’s the target Garrick?” my voice was quiet, barely loud enough for the group to hear me. She smirked before she responded._

_“A group of refugees. We kill them, stage it like the UEG attacked, and we turn that alien force to go after the UEG, and get us some alien support. We get them on our side, and we’ve all but finished the UEG.” I stared at her, too stunned to respond. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine she would want to attack civilians._

_“we cant just murder civilians! The whole point of this was to stop the senseless killings!”_

_“I know Chris, but we gotta do this! There are less of us by the day! With out Corneria’s support, we are done for! This is the only way to get it!” I felt anger starting to boil up under my skin, my fists clinching as I tried to fight it down._

_“There has to be another way! I am not going to kill civilians! No way in hell!” she slammed her fists into the table top, upsetting the various map markers and other items strewn across it._

_“Damn it Chris! Everyone else is on board with this! If you don’t want to help, then get your useless ass out of here!”_

* * *

 

                I startled awake, ripping the handgun off the nightstand and flicking the safety off. I could hear someone moving in the hallway, prompting me to slip out of the bed and move to the door, waiting for the footsteps to pass the door before quietly turning the well greased nob and hinges, making absolutely no noise. The hall was too dark to clearly see the figure, all I could really make out of them was that they definitely weren’t a member of the Star Fox team. I raised my weapon at the figure’s back, my left hand supporting the right to help keep the weapon stable. I was about to get the intruders attention when someone shouted behind me, slamming into me at the same time.

                “Look out!” my weapon clattered out of my hands as I fell into the wall, the smaller female unable to do more than knock me off balance. I near instantly twisted and body slammed her into the other wall. She cried out and let go, giving me and opening to grab one of her furred arms and twist it behind her back. I barely managed to rip a small knife out of my boot, pressing it against her throat.

                “Who are you, what are you doing here!?” a second female voice spoke from whoever I had been aiming at a second ago.

                “Whoa there, it’s Katt. Where’s Fox at?” I instantly let go of the female feline I was restraining, slipping the knife back away.

                “Oh, sorry Katt. Didn’t know you were coming.” I stepped back to the door, flicking the light switch on, illuminating the corridor. Katt was already in the main room of the apartment, staring at me with her arms crossed. She was a black furred feline, about the same age as Fox. She was a fellow mercenary that we had run into a few times while operating on Katina. She was also a very old friend of Falco’s, and had become tight friends with Fox over the years as well. The other feline was much smaller, just under my height actually, and looked like a walking lynx.

                “Oh, Fox asked if I could help out on your little mission here, for a cut of the reward that is. Oh, and before you ask, this is Miyu Lynx. She’s your age, her mom asked if I could watch her for a few months, so that’s why she’s here.” Miyu had already stooped over, picking up my pistol and offering it too me. She was wearing a skin tight sports bra and short shorts, and a very small jacket on that she had left open. Katt on the other hand was wearing a tank top and jeans. Neither of them had hair, most felines didn’t, unlike most of the races, being simply covered in fur.

                “Thanks. And sorry about my greeting there.” She shrugged, her electric blue eyes fixed on me, a surprising smile on her muzzle.

                “Don’t worry about it. I’m fine. No harm no fowl right?” I shrugged, making sure the safety was on before slipping the gun away in my pants.

                “Well, uh, there’s only one bed in the apartment so I guess you two can take it. Fox isn’t here and I think Falco crashed on the couch.” Katt glanced behind her, into the main room, just before shaking her head.

                “Nope. Guess he skipped out on ya too. Shouldn’t one of you be watching the gal?” I shook my head, slipping past both of them to plop on the couch in the still darkened room.

                “No. she’s still in the hospital from the kidnapping today. She’s fine. Fox was out trying to do some digging on the kidnappers. She’s safe for the night.” Katt smirked as I lounged on the couch, already slipping back asleep.

                “Alright, night little buddy. Sleep well. Come on Miyu, catch the lights for him.” The light from the hall cut out, just before the door to the bedroom closed, leaving me to fall asleep.

* * *

 

                Fox sat down on the stool, the bartender in the small bar simply nodded to him, the bar being part of both his and his dad’s usual free time hang outs. Speaking of his dad, the fellow vulpine plopped onto the stool next to him.

                “You called?” Fox smirked, leaning on the bar.

                “Yeah. I’m sure you heard about the foiled kidnapping by now?” he nodded so Fox continued. “Well, here’s all of the case files and info we got on the gal that was kidnapped. We got no idea why Andross’s guys are after her. thought you might be able to figure it out dad.” He smirked, accepting the small drive Fox slid to him.

                “Been a merc for nigh on ten years, and you still gotta ask your old man for help?” Fox shrugged as the older vulpine spun in his chair, leaning his back on the counter so he could watch the room at large.

                “Nah, just to busy to look into it myself. I got a social moron I gotta keep out of trouble, and hopefully teach a few things to him.” James smirked, fox spinning around and mimicking his position.

                “You don’t happen to mean a certain human do you?” Fox chuckled, answering his dad’s question right then and there. “Yup, you mean him. Is he really as bad as you say?” Fox nodded, a small chuckle slipping out.

                “yeah. no social skills at all. Nearly blown his cover half a dozen times already. And he freaks out over the smallest things. Anytime a crowd passes by, he’s practically drawing on them.”

                “Well, how can you blame him? Crowds on earth are terrorist targets. That’s the way he has spent the past ten years of his life, running from war or fighting in it. never even been in school in his life. So he’s a little out of his element. You gotta understand what the conflict on earth has caused. There are likely a lot of people his age with issues just like him. Likely manifest differently, but you get my point. Try to put yourself in his shoes.” Fox nodded, letting himself slip into his own thoughts.

                “I guess if all I knew was war, I’d be pretty screwed up in the head too. Poor kid. How much do you know about him?” the bartender swung back by, dropping a pair of drinks by on the bar for them, already knowing what the two of them would want.

                “A lot. I did my research on the way here. Grew up in the rocky mountain region, his town being a hot spot from day one. Spent the first four years of the war as a wandering refugee, until his mother and sister were killed, then picked up a gun. Not a whole lot on him for the next five years. The rest, you already know.” Fox grabbed his drink, a beer from Katina he picked up from hanging around Bill in his younger years, a katinian native.

                “Yeah. rough life. Hard to imagine that he has spent more time on the battlefield than I’ve spent in the air. It’s just hard to wrap my head around. He has more experience then all of Star Fox combined. If you don’t count you and Peppy that is.” James smirked, taking a sip of his whiskey.

                “Yeah, I think I got him beat, serving in the Venom wars and all. Damn that was some nasty shit. Ah well, Star Fox was born from that war. Just glad it never touched Corneria.” Fox sighed, taking another drink of his beer. The venom wars happened nearly three decades ago, before Fox had even been born. James had met Fox’s mother after being shot down and injured, his recovery on Corneria causing him to meet Vixy. Their fast forming relationship had been strained over the next few years, James being across the system fighting for several years after. Peppy had not only gone through training with James, but flown alongside him for the whole duration of the war, the two of them forming the original Star Fox team just weeks after it ended.

                “yeah. can you get mom to stop trying to hook me and Fara up? It’s bothering the crap out of me.” He chuckled, downing his whole shot in one go.

                “I’d have better luck convincing an Aparoid to be friendly. Besides, it aint coming from your mother. Fara’s been coming over for the past six months trying to catch you visiting.” Fox groaned, sinking in his chair and downing his beer in one long chug.

                “Point taken. I’m guessing I’m about to get an earful for ditching her the other night.” James nodded, ordering another shot, Fox getting his own second round as well.

                “Yep. I’m surprised you haven’t already, with how much those two talk. Was Fara this controlling of you while you were dating? And so obsessive?” Fox nodded, letting out a sigh.

                “It’s part of why I broke up with her. she wanted me to work at her dad’s company as a test pilot, not work with you.” James grunted, finishing off his second shot before standing and stretching, adjusting his sunglasses.

                “Hmm, never told us that. Anyway, I should go. Wouldn’t want to drink you under the table again, pup.” Fox chuckled, fist bumping with him before he left. A sigh slipped out of his mouth before he finished his drink, paying his tab for the night before slipping out the door. His wrist computer chiming with a message from Katt saying she had arrived at the apartment, already settling in. he smirked and put his hands in his pockets, marching off toward the apartment.


	5. Chapter 5

I stretched, my eyes still closed as I hadn’t fully awakened yet. I slowly sat up on the couch, my eyes opening to find the Lynx from last night cooking at the small stove, smelling like it was something very good.  
“Wh-aun. Sorry, what are you doing?” She chuckled, not even glancing back.  
“Cooking breakfast sleepy head! heard you had a long day yesterday, thought you might like something warm for breakfast.” I shrugged, double checking that my sidearm was still snuggly in the back of my pants, moving over to the window and scanning outside. I had already damn near memorized the view out the window, so anything out of place was easy to spot. Aside from the naturally shifted positions of cars and a few people walking, nothing was out of place. “Looking for something out there?” I shrugged, letting the dark curtain that covered the window fall back into place.  
“Making sure there isn’t someone watching us.” she rolled her eyes at me as she dumped the eggs she had been cooking onto a serving plate, leaving that on the counter next to a plate of bacon and toast. I quickly dished out a serving, sitting back down on the couch to eat. The girl did the same, dropping next to me on the couch.  
“You can slow down you know. You don’t have to eat that fast.” I glanced at her, having already nearly finished the plate.  
“You’re an easy target while eating. Eating quickly reduces the chances of an enemy catching you while you do so.” She rolled her eyes, scooping up a piece of bacon.  
“You can relax, there are three cops at the hospital, watching over your friend, as well as Slippy.” I glanced at her as she spoke, her instantly biting into the bacon when she finished, and clearly thoroughly enjoying it.  
“there is a threat to us. if they identified us, we’re likely now a target. And how do you know that?” She smirked, swallowing her bite of food.  
“Oh, Fox got called by slippy before he could leave this morning. I overheard the conversation. You were still passed out on the couch. I’m surprised you didn’t attack Fox when he came in, like you did us.” I finished off the plate of food before me before I responded.  
“Well, I did wake up, just recognized his clumsy ass.” She smirked, silence falling as she ate, myself rinsing the plate off before putting it away.  
“Well, Fox said you got the day off today. Want to go do anything?” I shook my head, opening up a drawer at a small desk that was in the corner of the room, a bunch of weapons cleaning supplies and tools inside. I was already disassembling my weapon and beginning the simple cleaning process.  
“Clean weapons, prep mags, prep gear, do homework. Im behind on a lot,” Miyu bounced up off the couch, setting her unfinished plate on the counter as she practically bounced her way over, grabbing the Vector from where it was leaning on the wall, near instantly disassembling the weapon.  
“I’ll help you then.” She was smiling as she set most of the weapon on the desk, pulling a clean rag out of the drawer and wiping carbon off the bolt.  
“How did you even know how to take that apart?” She smirked, just finishing wiping it off and starting to lightly oil it as she responded.  
“I’m over at Katt’s all the time. She has this three-dee holo trainer with every known weapon in the universe on it. I like to play around on it, take as many of the weapons apart as I can. Been though not even an eighth of the database in nearly a year of working on. Ran into the vector on there just a couple nights ago actually.” She set the bolt down, working on the firing chamber and the receiver it was housed in.  
“Hmm, you don’t strike me as someone who would have any interest in that sort of thing.” She smiled, doing a quick wipe down of the rest of the weapon before slipping it back together.  
“Looks can be deceiving. You of all people should know that.” She leaned the weapon against the wall again before leaning herself up against the table, still smirking.  
“What do you mean?” she chuckled, cocking her head at me.  
“Really? You do not look at all like what you are capable of. Name another seventeen year old who can pilot battle mechs, shoot guns, and fight better than most trained soldiers? And yet, you still look like an average teenager. A little fit, yeah, but not out of this world.” I shrugged, honestly, not really caring. I quickly reassembled the handgun, sliding it’s magazine back in and racking the weapon, chambering a round before flicking the safety back on. I stood and stretched moving off toward the bathroom to shower without saying a word, a small sigh slipping out of the lynx’s mouth. As soon as I was finished, I toweled off and slipped back into my usual uniform, still feeling naked without a combat vest of some sort on. I settled for a belt and holster, slipping my handgun away before stepping back into the living room area, where Miyu was sitting around on the couch, looking absolutely bored. I was about to open my mouth to speak when there was a knock on the door. Miyu just glanced up curiously. I, on the other hand, slipped my weapon out as I approached the door and looked through the peep hole. Callie was on the other side, looking almost half asleep in a red t-shirt and baggy sweatpants. I slipped the pistol back into it’s holster, freezing as I moved to open the door as I realized what could happen if she saw me wearing a uniform.  
“Uh, Miyu, grab the door for me, I gotta change!” I didn’t even give her a chance to respond as I darted into my room, hearing her move to the door and open it. I dumped my belt and holster onto the bed as I heard Miyu greet callie.  
“Hi, um, who are you?” Miyu’s voice was shockingly clear through the wall, and very welcoming.  
“Hmm, something smells good in here….. oh wait, sorry, my name’s callie, I was looking for a friend of mine, but I must have the wrong room, sorry.” I quickly dropped my grey combat top, untucking the grey t-shirt in hopes that it would be enough, stepping out into the hall, trying to feign a curious look.  
“Uh, hey Callie, what are you doing here?” she saw me and smiled for a second, glancing at Miyu again.  
“Oh… um, chris, who’s this?” she jerked her thumb at Miyu, who gave her a sweet smile.  
“Oh, uh, friend of mine. We… uh….” Miyu picked up for me, seeming able to sense that I had no idea what kind of excuse to make.  
“My name’s miyu, went to school with chris on Katina.” She held her hand out warmly, smiling. Callie politely shook it before leaning past her to speak to me.  
“Uh, Chris, can I speak to you real quick?” she jerked her thumb out into the hall and I shrugged, stepping past Miyu and into the hall. Miyu gave me a pat on the shoulder as I passed. I shut the door behind me, crossing my arms as I faced her. she was looking me up and down, almost as if she was about to laugh.  
“feeling a little emo today? All grey, black…. Are those combat boots?” I glanced down and mentally cursed myself. “And why do you got you pants tucked into them?” I shrugged and tugged my pants out of my boots, trying to play it off.  
“Must’ave not been paying attention this morning. Just got up.” She chuckled at me as I straightened up, smiling lightly.  
“So, a friend from Katina is visiting? A female friend? You sly dog!” I looked at her, utterly confused as she continued to smirk at me.  
“i…. what are you talking about? She’s just visiting for a week or two?” Callie rolled her eyes and laughed.  
“Seriously chris! A gal doesn’t travel millions of miles just to chill with a ‘friend’ for a few weeks! She likes you!”   
“Well, we are friends… friends tend to like each other…. Right?” I was completely unsure as to what I was saying, just trying to find a way to not blow my cover.  
“Oh wow, you are thick!” she laughed before she continued. “I think Miyu there wants to date you, silly!” a dozen different warning alarms seemed to go off in my head at once, scrambling to figure out what to say.  
“No no no! she’s here with a friend!” I hesitated for a second, unsure if that was enough. “Her parents asked her friend to watch her for a few weeks, and her friend had some work on Corneria so I offered them a place to stay, that’s all!” she laughed, still smirking in a way that made me beyond uncomfortable.  
“a friend huh? How old is this friend?” I shrugged, not actually knowing Katt’s age.  
“Like, twenty seven, I think? I don’t know, I’ve only met her a few times…” she put her hands on her hips, cocking her head to the side as she continued.  
“And your parents are okay with them staying? I mean, these apartments aren’t real big, so…..” her voice dropped off as she saw my expression, startling. At the mention of parents, I had seemed to freeze, a look of pain on my face. A single tear leaked out as I managed to move, reaching for the door. “Whoa, hey, you okay? What’s wrong!?” I closed my eyes, my hand still on the door nob.  
“I…. My parents are dead. They were killed on earth. I’ve been living with a friend of mine.” Before I could react, she was wrapping her arms around me, squeezing me tightly. I barely managed to not attack her as adrenaline coursed through my system.  
“I’m so so sorry Chris! I didn’t mean to bring that up!” I shrugged, having no idea what to do as she continued to hold me.  
“I uh, it’s okay. Um, what did you come over for anyway?” she let go of me, wiping away the moistier that had built up in her eyes.  
“Oh, Samantha was released from the hospital a few minutes ago. I thought you might like to know and I don’t have your number so I couldn’t just text you…..” she was making a rolling motion with her hands as she talked. I shrugged holding my hand out.  
“Gimme your phone.” She nodded and I quickly found the messaging app and sent a text to myself. Cell phones had been a major means of communication, with both the resistance and later Star Fox, so it was something I knew my way around. “There, save my number as whatever you want.” She nodded and something seemed to hit her, her expression changing in an instant.  
“Oh, I smelled food when I got here! I don’t have anything cooked up right now, is it okay if I eat with you three?” I glanced at the door, rubbing the back of my head as I fought to figure out what to say. I didn’t want to be rude to her and say no, but the living area was filled with firearms and equipment. Before I could formulate a response, the door swung open to reveal an out of breath Miyu.  
“Oh, hey, there you are! Was getting a little worried about you!” Callie smiled at the feline, speaking before I could.  
“You wouldn’t mind if I grabbed some food from you, would you? I really don’t want to cook this morning and whatever you all have is smelling wonderful.” Miyu smiled and gestured inside, stepping out of the way.  
“Why not? I made too much for the two of us.” I went wide eyed, staring at Miyu. The second Callie had passed her, she mouthed to me to cool it, gesturing inside. My mind raced as I stepped through, scared shitless about what Callie was about to find. That fear melted away as I stepped into the living area to find all of the equipment that had been strewn about was gone. I breathed a sigh of relief as Callie happily reached toward a cabinet to grab a plate, only for Miyu to stop her, almost forcefully.  
“Hey uh… plates are above the sink, silverware in the drawer under the food.” She looked very worried for a split second, it disappearing as fast as I saw it. Callie smiled, opening the correct cabinet’s and pulling out a fork before piling food on her plate.  
“Thanks Miyu! Chris told me you came here with someone, where are they?” Miyu chuckled, spinning a chair about at the small dining room table and plopping into it, backwards, as Callie sat down at the table.  
“Katt? She had to go to work already, as well as Chris’s guardian, Peppy. He aint around much anyway.” She smiled at miyu, happily chewing away at her food before answering.  
“Okay, cool. You seem much more talkative than Chris there.” Miyu chuckled as I dropped onto the couch, trying to ignore them both.  
“Oh, he’s just not a people person. Takes a bit to warm up to him. He’s cool though, when you do.” Callie laughed as my ears started to turn red.  
“Oh, so that explains a lot. Does he normally try to spend time with people, even though he’s terrible at it?” Miyu laughed, and I had no idea what she did, assuming that she shook her head by what followed. “Oh? Really? Hmm. I think he has a crush then.” I tried to shrivel away, hating this situation even more. Why, out of all the things they could talk about, why did it have to be me, WHILE I’M SITTING TEN FEET AWAY FROM THEM! My mind yearned to scream that at them as Miyu spoke again.  
“Oh? Let me guess, human gal, name’s sam, I think?” I finally looked at them, utterly confused. I hadn’t said a word to her or katt about my job, much less who I was guarding.  
“Samantha. But since you know that, I’m guessing he’s talked about her?” Miyu giggled and nodded. “So he does have a crush on her! I knew it!” I groaned and stood up, finally speaking.  
“Excuse me, I am right here you know! I do not have a crush on her!” Miyu just laughed, making a shooing motion toward me.  
“Oh, hush you! So what’s this girl like!? Getting him to say anything is like pulling teeth out!” I groaned and fell back on the couch, wishing I could just disappear.  
()  
Miyu smiled as she waved goodbye to the canine, smirking as she closed the door.  
“Okay, girl talk is over now! you may speak!” she heard a groan from the couch and chuckled, walking back into the living area. “Oh, come on, it’s funny and you know it! besides, Callie told me how you’ve been acting, and this will give you a cover to continue being the awkward kid wanting to join them. Closer you are too her, the easier it is for you to protect her.” he groaned again, sitting up again to glare at her.  
“But it isn’t true! I got no use for dating, what so ever! There’s the next mission and that’s it!” she sighed, about to speak when he spoke, his voice very quiet. “But, at the same time, thank you for hiding all of the gear. I couldn’t think of a polite way to say no, and if she had seen that stuff, my cover would have been completely blown. So, again, thanks.” Miyu dropped over the back of the couch and ruffled his hair as she dropped beside him.  
“Your welcome, tough guy. And come on, she showed me a pic of this Samantha chick, and she’s really cute! Why not try dating her? if you can manage it that is.” He grunted, glaring at her.  
“I have no use to dating her. my job is to guard her until I get told otherwise. As soon as that mission is done, I don’t care if I ever even see her again.” She grimaced, patting his arm.  
“You sir, need to rethink your priorities. Alright, if you never want to see her again, what about me? Ever want to see me again?” he seemed to freeze for a second before his shoulders slumped, himself looking away.  
“I get the feeling that I don’t get a choice in that.” She shrugged, him suddenly launching off the couch. “I’m going to go see about finding a shooting range, get some of my rifles zeroed to the atmospherics here.” She sighed as he moved to his room, coming back with his top and holster back on, a pair of rifles on his shoulder and a massive one in his hands. She recognized one of the rifles as his usual old beat up human assault rifle, with it’s underslung grenade launcher. The second one on his back was longer, but had roughly the same build. Mounted on it was a bipod, rangefinder laser, and an eight power scope. She suddenly, made a decision, launching to her feet to grab the vector from where she had stashed it.  
“I’m coming with you, and we are doing more than zeroing rifles. I’m gonna show you how to make a range day fun!” She smiled to him, to which he just shrugged, heading back to his room to collect the ammo.  
()  
Fox locked the door behind him as he slipped into the small apartment, frowning at the fact that the lights were off. He had spent most of the day at the police station, dropping off a report on the kidnapping and rescue and explaining to several officers why he had a seventeen year old on his team. He had also run into an old friend, Bill, not even having known that he had become a cop. The two had later spent the rest of the afternoon swapping stories at a nearby park.  
“Yo, Katt, Miyu! Chris, anybody home?” he knew Falco and Slippy were out watching the girl, covering for Chris so he could take some well deserved time off. Sadly, he had to be back at school the next day, but it did give everyone else some time to sleep. Fox had not expected this job to be as taxing on his team as it had been. He frowned as no voice responded, flicking the hallway light on. The living room looked empty from where he was standing, his feet carrying himself there and flicking the lights on to find it clean and empty. There wasn’t any equipment scattered around the room, like there normally was, and beyond the furniture, the only visible sign of life was a set of dishes in the sink. He sighed and decided to check the bed room, only to hear the key turn in the lock, the door opening to reveal Chris stepping in, a pair of rifle cases slung over his shoulder. He was looking back and oddly enough, when he noticed Fox, he smiled.  
“Hey McCloud. Sorry I wasn’t here when you got back. Miyu dragged me out.” He spoke as he stepped in, still holding the door as the sixteen year old feline in question stepped in, a pair of cases over her shoulder as well, but one of them was smaller than the others.  
“Oh don’t even try that! You’re the one who wanted to go to the range!” he glared right back at her, already retorting.  
“And I am not the one who wanted to go eat and visit the mall all afternoon!” Fox just rolled his eyes and got out of their way as they shambled past, both of them dropping the cases in the living room along side a pair of range bags.  
“So how did you two go to a range? You are both under age?” Chris waved him off, smirking.  
“Outside the city, they got a few unmonitored free ranges. Scared the living crap out of some Cornerians when we fired the Barret though.” Fox chuckled at that thought, knowing how much quieter plasma weapons were than ballistic weapons. And the barret being the massive high caliber sniper rifle it was, had quite the bark to it to go with it’s bite, the one time he having heard it fire deafening his sensitive ears for several minutes afterward.  
“I’m not surprised. Have fun at least?” Miyu instantly nodded, smiling. Chris on the other hand, merely shrugged, a small weak smile on his face.  
“I guess. Shooting at those bouncing targets was pretty fun though. Glad she got ahold of them.” Miyu grinned victoriously, lightly punching his shoulder.  
“See? I told you you’d have fun!” he just glared at her as he opened the case with his usual rifle in it.  
“First, never touch me again, second, yes, the range was fun, but the rest? Screw that shit!” She laughed as she started unpacking, Fox content to listen, curious as to where this was going.  
“oh? You were letting Callie touch you earlier?” He groaned, covering his face for a few seconds before responding.  
“Ugh, don’t remind me. She caught me off guard is all. And if I hadn’t been trying to keep a cover I would have put her on the floor!” Fox couldn’t help but interrupt.  
“Uh, callie?” Miyu was instantly responding, not even looking at him.  
“Oh, some canine came by this morning to let us know that Samantha was out of the hospital, and she ended up hugging Chris.” Fox shrugged, accepting that as an answer. “And you had some fun at the mall! You were laughing at all of those toy guns! And I know you enjoyed lunch! I’d be willing to bet you haven’t eaten good food in years! You practically couldn’t stop smiling!” Chris was starting to turn red, glaring at Miyu.  
“Oh, shut up, will you? Shesh, maybe it was a nicer day than I expected okay? Get off my case woman!” Fox just chuckled, leaving the two of them bickering back and forth as he showered, still able to hear them, muffled through the wall.  
“See, I told you it would be! You just gotta trust me a little! That’s all!” Fox was just about to turn the water on when Chris’s quiet voice mumbled through the wall. If it wasn’t for Fox’s sensitive ears, he would have never heard it.  
“I don’t trust anyone anymore Miyu. Get used to it. now lets get these guns cleaned. I might need them later and a clean gun is more reliable than a dirty one.” Silence fell between the two, or, as far as Fox knew, it had, as he turned the water on, feeling the warm water soak though his thick fur and wash away the day’s grime. He let out a relieved sigh, shutting the water off and moving to step out of the shower, only to nearly jump out of his skin as he saw Katt standing in the bathroom, smirking at him.  
“God damn it Katt! I’m trying to take a shower here!” she just chuckled, tossing him the towel that had been on the rack so he could hastily cover himself.  
“Quiet down Foxy, I don’t want them to hear us! and you really should lock the door if you don’t want people barging in on ya.” She smirked at his glare as he secured the towel around his waist. “Seems like my plan is working pretty well though. I knew those two would get along!” Fox raised an eyebrow at her as she leaned on the counter, her voice barely more than a whisper.  
“Uh, what?” she laughed, crossing her arms as she stared at him.  
“Really? Come on, did you think I brought Miyu for fun? You said he needed to learn to be social. It’ll help him to have someone who actually knows what he’s doing here to learn that. Plus, she has no problems with humans, and is as crazy as I am. So why not?” Fox rolled his eyes as he leaned on the counter next to her.  
“Don’t tell me you are trying to play match maker for him. If so, you might want to find a nice bunker to hide in before he goes ballistic.” She chuckled, glancing down his torso again.  
“Speaking of matching, why don’t we go a few rounds, like we used too, eh?” he glared at her and she put her hands up backing away a bit. “Hey, I’m just saying, it was fun when we were going at it, and you have clearly stayed in shape.” He rolled his eyes at her, chuckling.  
“Quit being desperate Katt. Now shoo, I want to dry off and change now.” she shrugged and stepped back through the door, closing it behind her so he could safely towel off. Just as he started the door slipped open again, causing him to jump again.  
“Mmmm such a good view….” Fox glared at her again, unable to stop the blood rushing through his cheeks.  
“Damn it Katt! Git, SCRAM! SHOO!” she giggled as she slammed the door shut, hollering at him through it.  
“I told you to lock the door, didn’t I Foxy!?”


End file.
